Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai: Dilip Khedkar, a retired Maharashtra government officer and father of trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, has been suspended twice on corruption charges. He is currently on the run after a case was registered against him and his wife, Manorama Khedkar, following the viral circulation of a video showing Manorama threatening people with a gun. The Pune Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has also launched an investigation into Dilip Khedkar’s assets, suspecting them to be disproportionate to his income.
Dilip Khedkar’s suspensions occurred in 2018 and 2020. According to documents accessed by NDTV, over 300 small business owners lodged complaints against him in 2015, accusing him of causing “unnecessary trouble” and extortion. In 2018, while serving as the Regional Officer in Kolhapur, the local sawmill and timber merchants association filed a police complaint against Khedkar, alleging he demanded bribes ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 to restore their power and water supplies.
Reports indicate that Khedkar was absent without permission for six to seven months on one occasion. In 2019, another complaint accused him of demanding Rs 20 lakh from a company. His 2020 suspension under various Maharashtra Civil Services Rules and the Maharashtra Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act cited multiple complaints and initiated an inquiry against him.
The spotlight on the Khedkars’ assets intensified with the investigation into 34-year-old Puja Khedkar, whose selection as an IAS officer has raised numerous questions. An ACB complaint flagged the extensive land, cars, and companies owned by Dilip Khedkar. The retired officer was interrogated for three days before he and his wife became unreachable. Police are actively searching for them.
The Khedkars’ troubles began when Pune district collector Suhas Diwase wrote to Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik about Puja Khedkar’s demands for perks she was not entitled to. It was soon revealed that Puja Khedkar claimed IAS selection under disability and OBC reservation but did not appear for a medical check-up to verify her disability and submitted a report from a private facility.
Puja Khedkar sought OBC reservation benefits from the non-creamy layer, which requires an annual family income below Rs 8 lakh. However, RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar highlighted that Dilip Khedkar’s affidavits, filed before he contested a Lok Sabha election, showed assets worth Rs 40 crore.
“Her father, Dilip Khedkar, in his Lok Sabha polls affidavit showed a conservative estimated wealth of Rs 40 crores and an annual income of Rs 49 lakh. The information is in the public domain,” Mr. Kumbhar stated, according to a PTI report.
The Central government has now ordered an investigation into Puja Khedkar’s IAS selection, and her training has been put on hold.
