New Delhi: The Crime Branch of Delhi Police have registered an FIR against trainee IAS Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar for allegedly submitting fake disability certificates and faking her whole identity, ThePrint has learnt.
Using the fake disability certificates, Khedkar also allegedly fraudulently availed more attempts in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam than the permissible limit.
The FIR, police sources have confirmed, has been registered under the forgery and cheating sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and other sections under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and the Information Technology Act.
According to police sources, the UPSC submitted a complaint to the Delhi police, saying that it has conducted a thorough probe into the case of Khedkar and found that she faked her identity by changing her name, her father’s and mother’s names, her photograph, signature, email, mobile phone number, and address.
“According to UPSC, discrepancies emerged in the disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates she submitted to secure a position in the civil service. She fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limit under the examination rules,” a police source said.
“We will probe the documents handed over by the UPSC. The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has registered a case,” the source said.
On Friday, the UPSC announced the issue of a show cause notice to Khedkar, cancelling her candidature for the Civil Services Examination 2022 and debarring her from future examinations and selections, as well, according to the civil services examination rules.
Khedkar secured an All India Rank (AIR) 821 and was allotted a 2023-batch IAS under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities quotas.
She had allegedly submitted a disability certificate, claiming multiple disabilities, including visual impairment and depression, and an OBC non-creamy layer certificate, implying that her family’s annual income was less than Rs 8 lakh.
The case came to light after Khedkar, who was on probation in the Pune district collector’s office, allegedly began harassing officers three months into her probation by demanding an official car with a VIP number plate and red beacon and an official chamber with adequate staff.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)