Trainee IAS Pooja Khedkar's lies exposed| Allegations and misconduct among India’s elite civil servants

Probationary IAS officer Pooja Khedkar is at the center of a major controversy over her alleged misuse of power.

The 32-year-old officer, was transferred from Pune to Washim in Central Mumbai on July 9, 2024 following serious allegations that she demanded privileges not typically granted to probationary officers.

PTI reported that Pooja, a 2022-batch Maharashtra cadre IAS officer sparked outrage by using her private Audi car equipped with a red-blue beacon light and a VIP number plate.

Khedkar repeatedly demanded a separate cabin, a car, residential quarters, and a peon even before she officially began her duties as a trainee on June 3.

Adding to the controversy, Khedkar allegedly submitted fake disability, a fake mental Illness and OBC certificates to pass the civil services exam.

This is not the first time UPSC officers have been surrounded by controversies, casting a shadow on the integrity of the prestigious civil services examination process.

In 2022, a senior IAS officer couple Sanjeev Khirwar and Rinku Dugga were transferred after Indian Express published a picture of the couple and their dog walking on the tracks of Thyagraj Stadium at a time when young athletes should have been practising on it.

The publication reported that athletes training at the Delhi government stadium were being asked to leave early for months so that Khirwar, could walk his dog there.

In 2013, the infamous Devyani Khobragade incident led to a major diplomatic standoff between India and the United States after she was arrested by the US law enforcement authorities on serious charges of visa fraud, and providing false statements in her visa application. She was also accused of paying her maid, a woman of Indian nationality, less than the minimum legal wage.

In 2022, Vinod Kumar, an IAS officer of the Odisha cadre was dismissed from service on corruption charges. The 1989-batch IAS officer has been accused of sanctioning funds to the tune of Rs 33.34 crore illegally in the aftermath of the 1999 super cyclone and causing huge financial losses to the state exchequer.

Recent controversies involving UPSC officers highlight growing concerns about transparency and integrity within India's civil services. Each new scandal, whether involving misuse of power or allegations of corruption, casts a shadow over the esteemed UPSC and the IAS. Reports of corruption among IAS officers are on the rise, with 753 complaints filed in 2019-20 and 643 in the previous year, as per govt data.