Puja Khedkar Case: Pune Police To Likely Close Down Case Against Collector Suhas Diwase

Khedkar had leveled allegations against her senior Diwase when she was transferred from Pune to Washim last month, for her alleged highhanded and entitled behaviour.

In a written statement, Khedkar had detailed sexual harassment allegations against Diwase to police in Washim when she worked at the Pune collectorate.

On Friday, Pune commissioner Amitesh Kumar told HT, “We have served her many notices to appear at the commissionerate but she never turned up. So now we assume she has nothing to say; we will see what’s to be done next.”

The report also quoting senior IAS officers privy to the case said the case will be closed soon.

“Preliminary inquiry is being done by Pune police and it should end there,” the above report quoted Chief secretary Sujata Saunik as saying.

Earlier, Puja Khedkar courted row after she was seen driving into Pune collectorate as a trainee IAS officer in her Audi, bearing a Maharashtra government insignia and a red beacon, which she was not entitled to, as per service rules.

She also demanded a separate room in the office.

Khedkar’s mother Manorama granted bail: Meanwhile, additional sessions judge Ajit N Mare, in Pune on Friday, granted regular bail to Manorama Khedkar, mother of the former IAS probationer, in the case of criminal intimidation associated with a land dispute in Mulshi tehsil. Manorama was arrested on July 18 after a video of her threatening farmers while brandishing a gun went viral on social media.

Pune rural police had lodged a case against Manorama, her husband and six others subsequently, based on a complaint by the farmer. She was later apprehended from a hotel in Mahad taluka, Raigad district, where she was hiding from the rural police.