As Arijit grew, his love for cricket became stronger and he was selected for the under-17 school Bengal team.

Puja Khedkar – the trainee IAS officer facing allegations of lying about mental and visual infirmities to qualify for the Civil Services, and then abusing her position – applied for a disability certificate from Pune in August 2022 but was shot down by doctors who examined her and said “it is not possible”.

“Please refer to your application dated 23/08/2022 for issue (of) disability certificate for following disability: Locomotor Disability (which can refer to cerebral palsy or a condition affecting bones or muscles that could restrict movement of the legs or arms)…”

“… you have been examined by the undersigned / Medical Board on 11/10/2022 and I / We regret to inform that… it is not possible to issue a disability certificate in your favour,” she was told in a letter.

This was the second time Ms Khedkar attempted to secure such a medical certificate.

Reports indicate she earlier tried to get a certificate from Ahmednagar.

A 2023-batch officer from Ahmednagar, Ms Khedkar made headlines (for all the wrong reasons) last week after reports she lied about her mental and visual condition to secure an officer’s post despite an unremarkable score in the ultra-competitive qualifying exam

READ | Trainee IAS Officer, Who Used Siren On Her Car, Claimed Mental Disability

Last week it emerged Ms Khedkar, while going through the selection process for an IAS post, had refused, six times, to undergo a mandatory medical test to confirm her disabilities.

Reports said the first test had been scheduled at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences for April 2022. She skipped this claiming to have tested positive for COVID-19.

READ | ‘Please Get It Done Before I Join…’: Puja Khedkar’s Messages

Two appointments for the following month were also skipped, as were those in July and August. And she only half-attended a sixth in September; she did not appear for a MRI test to assess vision loss.

It is unclear how, or why, she was appointed if she, in fact, declined to appear for the examination.

Having secured that post – Assistant Collector for Pune district – she then reportedly wheedled her into perks like a siren, or beacon, for her private vehicle (a luxury Audi sedan) and a ‘Government of Maharashtra’ sticker for the car. None of these perks are permitted for on-probation officers.

On the question of the red beacon, Pune Police said they will take action.

She may have also tried to persuade cops to release a family member arrested on suspicion of theft.

READ | IAS Trainee Officer Wanted Cops To Release Theft-Accused Man

Ms Khedkar is now being investigated by a one-member panel and will be sacked if found guilty.

READ | Centre Starts Probe. Puja Khedkar, IAS Trainee, To Be Fired If Guilty

Meanwhile, Ms Khedkar’s family are now in the middle of a controversy of their own.

READ | Police Action After Old Video Of Puja Khedkar’s Mother Waving Gun

Her mother, Manorama Khedkar, who is a village sarpanch, is facing an Arms Act case after a video showed her brandishing a pistol during an argument. Ms Khedkar’s father, Dilip Khedkar, a retired state government officer who may have helped her secure the post and perks, is a co-accused.

Ms Khedkar is in Washim as a Supernumerary Assistant Collector. She has refused to comment on the charges against her or her family, insisting “government rules forbid me from speaking”.

However, the father and mother are both missing.

READ | Where Are Trainee IAS Puja Khedkar’s Parents? Cops Launch Manhunt

Before he became unreachable, Mr Khedkar claimed his daughter had done nothing illegal and stressed she belongs to the non-creamy layer of OBCs. A person with a family income of more than Rs 8 lakh per annum is considered to be from the creamy layer and is not eligible for reservation benefits.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has labelled as “unfair” the Supreme Court‘s dismissal of a petition challenging the CBI’s FIR against him in a disproportionate assets case.

“This is a setback. What to do? This is unfair,” the senior Congress leader told NDTV.

“I will look at all the legal aspects and see how I can file an appeal. Everyone knows how political and vindictive… my issues have been going on. When the BJP government was there they gave (the CBI) permission to register a FIR. I asked for it to be squashed but they said they cannot…”

“At the same time the Karnataka government (after the Congress came to power) withdrew permission given to CBI and handed over case to the Lokayukta… so now CBI is continuing to investigate. All this despite the government withdrawing consent,” Mr Shivakumar said.

Earlier today a bench of Justice Bela Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said the petition lacked merit and that there was no reason for it to interfere in the case.

READ | “Sorry. Dismissed”: Supreme Court Setback For DK Shivakumar

The Congress last year withdrew consent for the CBI’s inquiry. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed his predecessor, the BJP’s BS Yediyurappa greenlit the probe “illegally”. The decision was criticised by the opposition BJP and JDS, which slammed the “immoral” move to “protect” Mr Shivakumar.

The CBI has alleged Mr Shivakumar amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income between 2013 and 2018. He was then a minister in the Congress government that preceded the BJP.

The amount in question is believed to be Rs 74 crore.

The CBI filed its case in 2020. The FIR was challenged, and rejected, by the High Court in 2021.

READ | CBI Challenges K’taka Government Move On DK Shivakumar Row

The High Court had also been moved by the CBI after the state government, in November, approved a proposal to withdraw permission to the federal agency to investigate Mr Shivakumar. The High Court had lifted the state’s stay and directed the agency to submit a report within three months.

Meanwhile, on the sensitive Cauvery water-sharing issue, the Deputy Chief Minister told NDTV, “I am happy to say we are getting good rains. We should be in a better position in days to come.”

The Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments have been locked in a long tussle over the sharing of the Cauvery. The river is seen as a major source of sustenance for the people in both states.

On Sunday, Karnataka decided to release only 8,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu, instead of the 11,500 cusecs it is required to release every day from July 12 to July 31. Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK, which is allied with the Congress at the national level and in the state, will hold an all-party meet of its own on Tuesday. Chief Minister MK Stalin said the refusal violated the Supreme Court’s order.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.