Ex-Trainee IAS Puja Khedkar’s Mother Gets Bail in Criminal Intimidation Case

Pune: A Pune court has granted bail to Manorama Khedkar, mother of former probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, in connection with a criminal intimidation case linked to a land dispute. The bail was granted by Additional Sessions Judge AN Mare, as confirmed by Khedkar’s counsel, Sudhir Shah.

The Pune rural police had been searching for Manorama and her husband, Dilip Khedkar, after a video emerged showing Manorama allegedly threatening individuals with a gun over a land dispute in Dhadwali village, Mulshi tehsil, in 2023.

The Paud police booked the Khedkars and five others under various IPC sections, including 307 (attempt to murder), 144 (unlawful assembly with deadly weapons), 147 (rioting), and 506 (criminal intimidation), along with the Arms Act.

Manorama Khedkar was apprehended at a lodge in Hirkaniwadi village near Mahad, Raigad district. Dilip Khedkar has secured anticipatory bail in the same case.

In a related development, the UPSC announced on Wednesday the cancellation of the provisional candidature of probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar and barred her from all future exams or selections.