Pune, India

A court in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra on Monday (Jul 22) sent the mother of embattled Indian Administrative Services (IAS) probationer Puja Khedkar to 14 days of judicial custody. Manorama Khedkar was detained on Thursday (Jul 18) in connection with a 2023 case where she allegedly threatened a person with a gun over a land dispute.

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Manorama was reportedly hiding in a lodge in the Raigad district. She was arrested and later produced before a judicial magistrate in Pune. The prosecutors alleged that Manorama, her husband and three others had threatened the person with a gun. She allegedly put the gun at the victim's head and was about to pull the trigger.

This comes after the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) sealed a company linked to Manorama over tax default of INR 2.77 lakh ($3,311).

Also read: UPSC Chairperson Manoj Soni resigns amid Puja Khedkar controversy

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As per reports, it's the same company the address of which was used by IAS probationer Puja Khedkar to obtain a disability certificate from YCM Hospital Pimpri Chinchwad.

"The property tax for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 for Thermoverita India Pvt. Ltd has been pending for the last two years. Additionally, the current year's outstanding dues are also unpaid," said Shekhar Singh, Commissioner of PCMC.

"As their dues remained unpaid in 2023, we initially issued notices and subsequently disconnected their water supply as a graded response. Since the dues have been outstanding for the last two years, our next step was to seal the property," the Comissioner of PCMC added.

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Controversy around IAS probationer Puja Khedkar

Khedkar has been accused of lying, forging documents about her disabilities, and falsifying her Economic Weaker Section (EWS) and caste details.

Also read: Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar’s training in Maharashtra put on hold, recalled to Mussoorie academy

Her father, Dilip Khedkar, had declared assets worth Rs 40 crore in the recently-concluded Indian General Elections, which cast doubt on her purported EWS status.

(With inputs from agencies)