"Innocent Till...:" Trainee IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Reacts To Allegations (image:x.com/IamTheStory__)

Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who is at the centre of controversy over the authenticity of her OBC quota status and disability provisions, urged that she be considered “innocent till proven guilty.”

She broke her silence on Monday by claiming that the media trial against her is unfair and that she will address all the accusations leveled against her before the central committee probing the charges.

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“Everybody knows what is going on. So proving me guilty by media trial is wrong on everybody’s part,” Khedkar told reporters in Maharashtra’s Washim.

Constitution is based on the fact that you are “innocent, till proven guilty”, she said.

Continuing further, Khedkar said: “I will testify in front of the expert committee and we will accept the decision of the committee…I do not have the right to tell you whatever investigation is going on. Whatever submission I have, will become public later.”

Khedkar stoked controversy as she has been accused of faking disability and OBC certificates to secure a position in the civil service. She has also attracted media attention over her reported demands for separate office space, an official vehicle, and other things.

Besides, the IAS trainee is facing allegations of “abuse of power”. It is reported that she was using a red beacon, VIP number plates, and a “Government of Maharashtra” sticker on her private car.

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The alleged misuse of power resulted in her transfer from Pune to Washim.

The Centre has formulated a single-member committee to re-examining her documents and claims surrounding Khedkar’s candidature in the civil services examination and then for IAS selection.

“The central government has constituted a single-member committee, chaired by a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary to government of India to verify the candidature claims and other details of Ms. Puja Manorma Dilip Khedkar, a candidate of Civil Services Examination-2022 and earlier CSEs. The committee will submit its report in 2 weeks,” said the Department of Personnel and Training in a statement.