Ministry Of Home Affairs amends J&K Re-Org Bill; J&K L-G gets more power. As per the bill transfer or position of any police officer will be via the L-G.

Alleged false claims in the UPSC candidature, misuse of power after assuming the post, and now a complaint against her mother for threatening people with a gun – the troubles for trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar have been rising at an alarming rate.

Pune police registered a case after an old video showing Ms Khedkar’s mother threatening a group of farmers with a gun in her hand went viral online.

The video shows Manorama Khedkar wielding a pistol while engaging in a heated exchange with local farmers over a land dispute in Mulshi. In the footage, she is seen confronting a man and demanding to see land documents reportedly in her name, waving the weapon in his direction before concealing it upon noticing the camera.

Following public outrage and demands for action, the Pune Police registered a case against her for voluntarily causing hurt, and criminal intimidation.

Superintendent of Police Pankaj Deshmukh clarified that the incident occurred a year ago, and the complainant involved has been identified and verified.

“This incident took place one year ago. We have traced the person with whom this incident took place. We have verified him. Whatever complaint he will give we will lodge that and take legal action further,” he said.

Puja Khedkar is a 2023-batch IAS officer who secured an all-India rank (AIR) 841 in the UPSC exam. Her father, Dilip Khedkar, is also a retired administrative officer.

The 24-year-old is currently under scrutiny for alleged misrepresentation as an OBC non-creamy layer candidate during her UPSC exams, alongside claims of visual and mental disability without substantiation. These issues have further intensified public scrutiny of the family, including accusations against her father regarding property acquisitions and land disputes.

Local farmers have alleged that despite their attempts to file complaints against the Khedkar family previously, they were reportedly turned away by the police.

In exclusively accessed documents, NDTV found that according to a “statement of immovable property for the year 2023”, Puja Khedkar owns five plots of land and two apartments across Maharashtra valued at a staggering Rs 22 crore.

The junior officer is facing serious charges of “abuse of power”. It is alleged that she was using a red beacon, VIP number plates, and a “Government of Maharashtra” sticker on her private vehicle, an Audi sedan.

Asked about the allegations against her, Ms Khedkar told reporters, “I am not authorised to speak on the issue. Government rules don’t provide (allow) me to speak on this.”

The BJP has been a party with a difference and that is why it has repeatedly won the trust of voters, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today, as he cautioned against the party repeating the past mistakes of the Congress that saw its exit from power.

“If we continue doing what the Congress used to do, there is no use of their exit and our entry,” emphasised Mr Gadkari in comments coming more than a month after the BJP failed to notch up a majority of its own in the Lok Sabha polls.

The minister was addressing a Goa BJP executive meeting near Panaji which was attended by the party’s state unit chief Sadanand Tanavade and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, among others.

In his 40-minute speech, the Union minister recalled his mentor and former deputy PM LK Advani’s statement that the “BJP is a party with a difference”.

“Advani ji used to say that we are a party with a difference. We have to understand how different we are from the other parties,” the former BJP president said.

The Lok Sabha MP from Nagpur said people have elected the BJP because of the Congress’ mistakes and cautioned his party against committing the same errors.

“If we commit the same mistakes, there is no use in their exit and our entry,” he asserted.

“That is why, in the days to come, party cadres should know that politics is an instrument for bringing social and economic reforms,” he said.

Mr Gadkari stressed, “We have to create a corruption-free country and for that, we should have a plan in place”.

Referring to politics in Maharashtra, Mr Gadkari argued that in his home state, there is a trend of playing politics on caste.

“I have decided not to follow this trend. I have told people that I will not indulge in caste politics. Jo karega jaat ki baat, usko padegi kaske laath (ones speaking about castes will be kicked out of power),” he warned.

A person is known by the values he possesses and not his caste, he maintained.

In a message directed at Goa BJP cadres, Mr Gadkari urged them to visit every constituency and strengthen the organisation so that the party can retain power in the 2027 assembly elections.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)