A video of Puja Khedkar’s mother, Manorama, allegedly threatening farmers with a pistol in Pune’s Mulshi tehsil over a land dispute has gone viral. The video, purportedly shot in 2023, shows Manorama accompanied by a bouncer, confronting farmers who objected to the Khedkar family’s encroachment on their land.
The Khedkar family owns properties across Maharashtra and had purchased 25 acres in Mulshi tehsil. When farmers claimed that part of this land encroached on their property, Manorama arrived at the scene with a pistol, asserting that the land belonged to her. In the video, she states that the ‘Saat-Baara-Utara,’ a revenue department document for tax collection, is in her name. When a farmer mentions that the matter is in court, Manorama responds, “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.”
The incident adds to the controversies surrounding probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who was recently transferred from Pune to Washim district due to complaints about her conduct during her probation period. Allegations against Khedkar include demands for a separate office, an official car, and the unauthorized use of a beacon and insignia on her private Audi car, privileges not permitted for a probation officer. Additionally, she allegedly occupied the chamber of Additional Collector Ajay More and put up a board with her name.
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There are further accusations that Khedkar misused disability provisions and the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota to secure her IAS position. The Centre has set up a single-member panel to verify the candidature of the 2023-batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre.
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