What Puja Khedkar wrote in her letter to government: ‘Subjected to insults’

The details of what former IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar – whose Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) candidature was recently cancelled amid a raging controversy – wrote in a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra last month have emerged.

In the letter dated July 11, Khedkar tried to clarify her position and accused Pune Collector Suhas Diwase of “insulting” her since her first day of training at the Pune District Collectorate, reported The Indian Express.

According to the report, Khedkar, in the letter, mentioned that she was extremely disturbed after Diwase complained to the higher authorities about the former IAS trainee’s “entitled behaviour” and the subsequent media coverage regarding it.

“Because of this (letter and media coverage), my image has become that of an arrogant officer in the public’s eye. This is causing me mental trauma, and I am extremely disturbed…I don’t know the reason, but since the day I joined as a probationary officer, the Pune Collector has been subjecting me to insults,” Khedkar wrote in the three-page letter written in Marathi, reported The Indian Express.

In the letter dated July 11, Khedkar tried to clarify her position and accused Pune Collector Suhas Diwase of “insulting” her since her first day of training at the Pune District Collectorate, reported The Indian Express.

According to the report, Khedkar, in the letter, mentioned that she was extremely disturbed after Diwase complained to the higher authorities about the former IAS trainee’s “entitled behaviour” and the subsequent media coverage regarding it.

“Because of this (letter and media coverage), my image has become that of an arrogant officer in the public’s eye. This is causing me mental trauma, and I am extremely disturbed…I don’t know the reason, but since the day I joined as a probationary officer, the Pune Collector has been subjecting me to insults,” Khedkar wrote in the three-page letter written in Marathi, reported The Indian Express.

“The staff enquired about my needs and arranged the stationery, etc. After District Collector Diwase sir returned to the office a day later, someone informed him about my sitting arrangement in the ante-chamber of the additional collector. Perhaps he was angered by this, he summoned the tehsildar concerned and ordered to remove my furniture from the ante-chamber,” she wrote, as quoted by The Indian Express.

Khedkar stated that while she tried to speak to Diwase, he would not listen to any of the explanations. She added that she even apologised to him and told him that she would accept any decision he made regarding her seating arrangement.

However, Diwase denied all the allegations made by Khedkar, calling them “nonsensical”.

Puja Khedkar case

Khedkar was found at the centre of a controversy over her alleged misuse of power as a civil servant last month after it came to light that she used her private Audi car with a red-blue beacon light and VIP number plate.

According to a report submitted by Pune collector Suhas Diwse to the General Administration Department, Khedkar repeatedly demanded that she be provided with a separate cabin, car, residential quarters, and a peon even before joining the duty as a trainee on June 3. However, she was denied the facilities. Following this, it was alleged that Khedkar’s father, a retired administrative officer, reportedly pressured the district collector’s office to ensure that the trainee IAS officer’s demands were fulfilled.

She was also accused of ‘misrepresenting information’ in her application for the UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2022. Khedkar was also accused of cheating and wrongly availing of OBC and disability quota benefits.

Amid increasing controversy, Khedkar moved the Delhi High Court on July 8 to challenge a district court’s decision denying her anticipatory bail. The bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad is set to hear the plea on Monday, August 12.

Meanwhile, on July 31, the UPSC cancelled Khedkar’s selection and permanently debarred her from all future exams and selections.