Pune: Dilip Khedkar, father of Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, had contested the Lok Sabha elections from Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) representing the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) party.
Right to Information activist Vijay Kumbhar from Pune has raised objections to Khedkar's appointment, revealing that her father has a total wealth of ₹40 crores and an annual income of ₹49 lakhs.
Vijay Kumbhar has tweeted, "IAS officer Puja Khedkar's parents, having a non-creamy layer certificate, possess property that includes 110 acres of agricultural land, violating the Agricultural Land Ceiling Act, 6 shops (1.6 lakh sq ft), 7 flats, including one in Hiranandani; 900 grams of gold, diamonds, a gold watch worth 17 lakh rupees, 4 cars, partnerships in two private limited companies and one automobile firm. Puja herself possesses property worth 17 crore rupees. Shouldn’t this be investigated?"
Puja Khedkar, a probationary IAS officer from the 2023 batch, has been transferred from the Pune District Collector's office to Washim. Khedkar had made several controversial requests, including the use of a red beacon on private vehicles, government emblems, facilities befitting an IAS officer, a separate cabin, and an independent government bungalow, sparking widespread discussion.
Puja Khedkar secured her appointment through the disabled quota and is also alleged to have availed the OBC non-creamy layer certificate.
Her father, Dilip Khedkar, a retired government official from the Pollution Control Board, faced corruption charges during his tenure and was suspended. The non-creamy layer limit is ₹8 lakhs, and Khedkar is accused of violating this criterion given her father's income.
Dilip Khedkar pursued his engineering degree and has two children. Puja is a probationary IAS officer, while her brother Piyush is studying in London. In the Lok Sabha elections, Dilip Khedkar received 13,749 votes.
Dilip Khedkar’s brother, Manik Khedkar, served as a BJP taluka president for five years and reportedly made vows at Mohatadevi for Pankaja Munde to receive the BJP ticket for the Lok Sabha, which he fulfilled after her nomination.
Following a dispute with Sujay Vikhe Patil, Dilip Khedkar chose to contest the election from Vanchit. Puja Khedkar's demands for facilities not approved for a probationary IAS officer led to her transfer based on a report from the Pune District Collector.
Puja had also taken possession of an additional room in the chamber of the Additional District Collector.