‘IAS officer Puja may be terminated if found guilty’

New Delhi/Mumbai: Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who is at the centre of a controversy over alleged misuse of power and privileges, may be terminated from service if found guilty, official sources said on Friday.

They said all documents presented by her to secure her candidature in the civil services examination and then for selection in the service will be re-examined by a single-member committee constituted by the Centre on Thursday.

The panel has started its investigation, the sources said.

“The officer may be terminated from the service if found guilty. She may face criminal charges also in case she is found to have misrepresented a fact or done any sort of manipulation in documents relied upon for her selection,” a source said.

Khedkar, a 2023 batch IAS officer, is under probation and currently posted in her home cadre Maharashtra.

The 34-year-old officer is in the eye of a storm over for allegedly misusing the disability and OBC quota to secure a position in the IAS.