Manorama Khedkar, mother of controversial probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, has been detained by Pune police. Her arrest comes in connection with an old video of hers, in which she was seen allegedly threatening farmers with a pistol.
Manorama Khedkar was arrested from a hotel in Raigad after being on the run. A fresh First Information Report (FIR) has also been filed against her.
Earlier, an FIR was lodged against Manorama Khedkar and her husband Dilip Khedkar based on a complaint by a farmer, following the emergence of the video. Sections of the Indian Arms Act were also added to the FIR.
The two-minute video showed Puja Khedkar’s mother allegedly threatening farmers over a land dispute in Pune’s Mulshi tehsil. Wielding a pistol, Manorama Khedkar was accompanied by bouncers and was seen arguing with a person about ownership of a plot of land.
Dilip Khedkar, a retired government servant, had purchased 25 acres of land in Mulshi tehsil.
Pune Police have been on the lookout for Dilip Khedkar and his wife since the video emerged. Three police teams were formed to catch the couple.
Recently, another controversial video of Manorama Khedkar emerged, in which she could be seen arguing with Pune metro officials and police personnel over construction materials kept near her bungalow. The 2022 video was shot outside the Khedkar family’s bungalow on Baner Road in Pune.
Puja Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, recently made headlines after she was transferred from Pune to Washim over wrongful demands and complaints regarding her conduct during the probation period. She is also under probe for allegedly forging disability certificates to clear the civil services examination.
The Centre has formed a one-member committee to probe her conduct and selection process.