Trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar’s mother brandishes gun and threatens farmers
The video clip, said to be at least a year old, shows Pooja Khedkar’s mother Manorama Khedkar verbally browbeating a man, presumably a farmer, with a pocket pistol in her hand
A day after the Centre set up a panel to probe trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar, more skeletons tumbled from the cupboard of the Khedkar family with a video clip showing her mother brandishing a gun and threatening a farmer in Pune in a case of land dispute.
The video clip, said to be at least a year old, shows Ms. Pooja’s mother Manorama Khedkar verbally browbeating a man, presumably a farmer, with a pocket pistol in her hand. The two-minute video shows Ms. Manorama, accompanied by bouncers, arguing about ownership of a plot of land in Pune’s Mulshi tehsil with the farmer.
Also read: Who is Pooja Khedkar and what are the allegations against the IAS officer?
“Show me the saatbara (land records). The documents of this plot of land bear my name,” Ms. Manorama is heard shouting at the man in Marathi in the clip despite the latter’s protestations that the plot of land is in his name.
The person then says that the matter is in court. To this, Ms. Manorama is heard warning the man not to “teach her the rules.”
“You may be the real owner… but this place is also in my name… so what if the matter is in court? I will see how you take everything. I am not afraid of anyone,” she is heard saying.
It has been alleged that Ms. Pooja’s father, retired government servant Deelip Khedkar, amassed property worth crores and purchased land at several locations including 25 acres in Pune’s Mulshi taluk.
When farmers tried to lodge a complaint with the police over Ms. Manorama’s high-handed behaviour, their supplications allegedly went unheeded and the police refused to file the complaint.
However, with Ms. Pooja now under the scanner, the Pune Rural police have decided to probe the video clip, with officials saying they had taken cognisance of the clip and were ascertaining the facts of the case. While authorities said they would investigate if Ms. Manorama has a licence to own a firearm, her lawyer confirmed that she had one and that she had allegedly carried it for her ‘safety’ on the day of the argument.
Who is Pooja Khedkar and what are the allegations against the IAS officer?
A 2023 batch IAS officer, the 32-year-old Ms. Pooja shot to infamy after it transpired that she had sought special privileges including a separate office, house, car and staff before taking charge as an assistant collector — perks not given to trainee officers. She used a ‘Government of Maharashtra’ sticker and a red-blue beacon on her private luxury sedan while on probation in Pune besides allegedly faking mental illness to secure a disability certificate and appearing for the UPSC exam under the visually impaired category.
On Thursday, the Central government formed a single-member committee to examine the controversy around Ms. Pooja’s candidature.
Speaking to reporters today, Ms. Pooja, who has been transferred from Pune to Washim amid the allegations, said she was not authorised to speak on the matter. “I am not authorised to say anything to the media. I will make my submission before the committee. I will follow the procedure,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Navi Mumbai Police have reported to the Maharashtra government that Ms. Pooja had allegedly tried to pressure a Deputy Commissioner of Police-rank officer to release a man held in a theft case. The incident occurred on May 18 at Panvel police station wherein Ms. Pooja had allegedly called DCP Vivek Pansare, exhorting him peremptorily to release a transporter, Ishwar Uttarwade, arrested in a case of theft.
Ms. Pooja allegedly told Mr. Pansare that Mr. Uttarwade was innocent and the charges against him were “minor”. To their credit, the police did not act on the call and Mr. Uttarwade is still in judicial custody for the alleged crime.
In another development, the car on which Ms. Khedkar had allegedly installed the State government insignia without authorisation was today shifted from the family’s residence in Pune after the city traffic police issued a notice to her. They slapped a fine of more than Rs. 27,000 on the trainee IAS officer for breaking traffic rules.
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