Days after Manorama Khedkar, mother of IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, was arrested, the Pune Police seized the pistol and three bullets she used for allegedly threatening a farmer. The police seized the firearm from her home, located in the National Cooperative Housing Society in Pune's Baner.
Manorama Khedkar was arrested at a hotel in Mahad, Raigad district, after being on the run. Following her arrest, a magisterial court sent her to two days of police custody, which will come to an end today.
It must be noted that Manorama Khedkar's lawyer in the court stated that she has had the weapon for the past 24 years and has never misused it. The lawyer also stated that they were ready to submit the pistol to the court.
The 65-year-old farmer Pandharinath Pasalkar filed an FIR against Manorama Khedkar, her husband Diliprao Khedkar, and many others, following the emergence of the viral video. Sections of the Indian Arms Act and attempts to murder were also added to the FIR.
The video showed Manorama Khedkar brandishing a pistol while confronting the local farmer over a land dispute in Pune's Mulshi tehsil. Accompanied by bouncers, she was seen arguing with a person about the ownership of a plot of land.
Diliprao Khedkar, a retired government servant, had purchased 25 acres of land in Mulshi tehsil.
Earlier on Friday, a Pune Court granted anticipatory bail to Dilip Khedkar till July 25 in connection with the offence of threatening farmers.
Puja Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, recently made headlines after she was transferred from Pune to Washim over wrongful demands and complaints regarding her conduct during the probation period. On Friday, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) filed a case against Puja Khedkar, who is under probe for allegedly forging disability certificates to pass the civil services exam. The commission sought to cancel her candidature in connection with the case.
