Ahmedabad, Gujrat

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The Gujarat General Administration Department (GAD) has called for a re-evaluation of the medical certificates for five IAS officers after a fraud case involving trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar in the Indian state of Maharashtra came to light.

Khedkar's selection in the civil services was based on a fraudulent disability certificate, resulting in the cancellation of her UPSC selection. The medical exams are expected to take place at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital or Rajkot AIIM. One of these officers has a senior role in the state administration.

The GAD launched the investigation following Khedkar's high-profile case in Maharashtra. The department, supervised directly by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, has raised questions about the disability certificates provided by these five IAS officers from his state.

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A senior officer claimed blindness and three junior officers listed ‘locomotive disability’ on their certificates, sources told Times Now. The re-testing has caused concern among the officers, as their positions could be at risk if their disabilities are not validated.

What's the Puja Khedkar case about?

Puja Khedkar, an ex-probationary IAS officer, faced serious consequences when the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) annulled her application for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022.

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On July 31, 2024, UPSC also permanently banned Khedkar from partaking in any future exams or selections due to her breach of CSE-2022 regulations.

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Khedkar is accused of submitting fake PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) and OBC certificates to exceed the allowed number of exam attempts.

Originally appointed as Assistant Collector in Pune, she was transferred to Washim, Maharashtra, after reports of abusing her position first surfaced. It was later revealed that she changed her name and her parents' names to avoid being caught for her repeated exam attempts.

On July 18, the UPSC sent Khedkar a show-cause notice, giving her until July 30 to reply. She did not respond, leading the UPSC to file a criminal case against her for forgery and falsification.

The Delhi Police are looking into the case, and the UPSC is now examining the records of over 15,000 candidates from 2009 to 2023 to prevent similar issues in the future.

(With inputs from agencies)