(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Facing serious allegations of misusing the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota and disability provisions to secure a position in the civil service, probationary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar on Monday (July 15) addressed the media, asserting that the truth will emerge once she presents her case to the central committee investigating the charges.
Speaking to reporters, Khedkar said, "I will testify before the committee. I think whatever decision the committee will take should be acceptable to all. My job here as a probationer is to work and learn and that is what I am doing. I cannot make any comments on that."
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Khedkar has been at the center of media attention following a controversy over her reported demands for separate office space and an official vehicle. Allegations soon surfaced that she, the daughter of a retired bureaucrat, had misused the OBC quota and the Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) provision to gain her civil service position.
Her father, Dilip Khedkar, had contested the Lok Sabha elections, declaring property worth Rs 40 crore in his poll affidavit, which raised questions about Puja's non-creamy layer certificate.
In response to these allegations, the central government has formed a single-member committee to re-examine the documents Puja submitted during her civil services examination and subsequent IAS selection.
"The experts of the government (committee) will decide. Neither I nor you (media) or the public can decide," Puja said.
"Whenever the decision of the committee comes, it will be public and open to scrutiny. But right now I don't have any right to tell you about the investigation going on," she added.
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Puja stressed that the Indian Constitution presumes individuals are innocent until proven guilty. "So proving me guilty by media trial is wrong on everybody's part," she asserted. "Whatever my submission is, I will give it in front of the committee and the truth will come out."
Recently, Puja was transferred from Pune to Washim following allegations of high-handedness during her probationary period at the Pune district collectorate. The controversy intensified with reports of her demands for separate office space and an official vehicle.
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