The Case Of Puja Khedkar Is Becoming Curiouser And Curiouser With Every Passing Day

By Sushil Kutty

Changing names is a national pursuit. Shopkeepers and restaurateurs have been routinely using certain namesakes for their businesses to make a killing during key seasons. At another level, the romantics have been faking monikers for the easy access it gave them into lonely hearts. That this pursuit has been called ‘Love Jihad’ is hotly contested as the central government says it doesn’t recognize ‘Love Jihad’, the same central government that is run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier called the “Modi Government” but now with the name-changed out of coalition-compulsion into “NDA Government”. Some UP politicians even  spoke of “Vote Jihad” right now, politics is being played in the name of ‘Naam Batao’ in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

They say ‘Jihad’ goes on in the name of land, love, vote and what have you not! IAS probationer Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar’s ‘jihad’ against the UPSC made an idiot of the UPSC. Puja Khedkar not only faked names of key figures, she gave false mobile numbers, fake addresses, fake email-ids, faked mother’s name, faked father’s name and forged signatures of important officials/officers.

Puja Khedkar is now persona non-grata in the eyes of the Union Public Service Commission, which on July 20 took action and debarred Puja from sitting UPSC exams from now on. The Delhi Police lodged a criminal case and if anybody is under the false impression that Puja is crying her heart out, outside the UPSC headquarters on Shahjahan Road in Lutyen’s Delhi, that person should not be under that totally false impression.

Puja Khedkar with the Audi is made of tougher skin. Asked about the action taken against her by the UPSC, Puja said in the casual manner of accomplished con artists, “The law will take its own course.” Yup, Puja makes young women her age wonder what makes them miss the bus! Puja Khedkar’s casual reply is not false bravado, Puja was speaking from learning. Run-ins with law enforcement runs in Puja Khedkar’s family.

Puja’s mother was taken into police custody on July 19 for possession of, and pointing a gun at a police officer. The mother was hiding in a lodge under the false name of ‘Indubai’. Puja’s father is no less controversial —“Papa Khedkar” is always on the wrong side of the government which employs him. Like mother like daughter; like daughter like father — the UPSC show cause to Puja Khedkar says Puja is no longer an IAS probationer. But Puja Khedkar couldn’t have made a mockery of the system, without frauds in the UPSC in the know. The ‘inside job’ applies to Puja Khedkar and the UPSC was hand-in-hand.

Puja is the answer to the question, what’s in a name? Puja’s mother ‘Indubai’ and Puja’s father will promptly provide Puja a list of names she could use in the pursuit of happiness. Puja Khedkar sat for the ICS exam multiple times — more times than UPSC rules allowed — using her skill in falsifying names to outwit the dense UPSC. Puja even faked her photograph. She was a con artist and could have easily become a career-criminal.

“The UPSC initiated a series of actions against her, including criminal prosecution by filing a First Information Report (FIR) with the police authorities and has issued a show cause notice for cancellation of her candidature of the Civil Services Examination-2022 and debarment from future examinations, selections, in accordance with the rules of the Civil Services Examination-2022,” the boxed-in examination-hub said in a statement.

The Delhi Police booked Puja for cheating, fraudulence and forgery. The UPSC gave itself a clean chit. The UPSC said it conducted examinations with “due diligence with utmost fairness”. The UPSC said it had “deservedly earned trust and credibility.” Puja Khedkar is living proof that the UPSC is shooting out of its 17-gallon hat. True story is, Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar took the UPSC for a ride — again and again; and then, again and again!

Puja Khedkar cleared the examination using all the foul means available, and then she cleared the interview. She became an IAS probationer and her criminal acts wouldn’t have been caught if she hadn’t been driving an Audi around Pune with an amber beacon atop it. She also wouldn’t have caught the eye of a senior officer, if she hadn’t trespassed into his office! The UPSC made an ass of itself and then it swears it acted with due diligence!  The fact is, India is a playground for bureaucrats and politicians to make “dupes” out of dumb citizens. “Ye Public Hai Jo Sab Jaan-ti Hai” is ballooney and hot air. The ‘kanwar yatris’ were being made fools of with the use of false names and successive police and civilian authorities were aware of the 2006 law Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had brought in to address the fakery going on in the name of names!

Under this law, every food outlet had to post names of owner and employees, irrespective of religion. How come Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath did not use the ‘Fssai law’ in the previous year and in the years before the previous year? Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s 2006 law would have settled the case for the ‘Kanwars’ and Muslim dhabas once and for all. Then, the Congress wouldn’t be giving ultimatums and behaving as if it wasn’t aware of its own Prime Minister’s ‘Fssai law’. And Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wouldn’t be setting the menu for the ‘Kanwars’ if Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya hadn’t cornered him in a Game of Thrones. It is hard to digest that Yogi Adityanath’s love for ‘Kanwar’ is what made him pick on certain names! Whether it is Puja Khedkar or that of ‘Kanwar Khana’, both boil down to ‘Namesake’. (IPA Service)