"The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has conducted a detailed and thorough investigation in the misdemeanour of Ms. Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, a provisionally recommended candidate of the Civil Services Examination-2022," the commission in an official statement said.

This is about Puja Khedkar, a 2023 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, who was accused of misusing power and privileges during her training in Pune recently.

A series of actions were initiated against her:

1) A police case was registered against her for availing attempts in the civil services exam by faking her identity.

2) A Show Cause Notice (SCN) for cancellation of her candidature of the civil services examination-2022 and debarment from future examinations/selections.

The investigation revealed that Khedkar fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limit under the examination rules by faking her identity by way of changing her name, her father's and mother's name, her photograph/signature, her email ID, mobile number, and address.

It may be noted that allegations are also being made that she produced fake caste and disability certificates as part of her entry into the IAS cadre and misusing her authority for special privileges. 

Puja is a trained doctor and a probationary officer of IAS from the 2022 cadre and was posted as an Assistant Collector in Pune in 2023.