The strange case of Puja Khedkar

We should be grateful to the young officer for having exposed vulnerabilities of the system

Alok Tiwari

You must be from another planet if by now you do not know about the Puja Khedkar case. Unless, of course, you have been an invitee to THE wedding, in which case you would, indeed, be on another planet. But we are talking about the young IAS officer who, while being posted in Pune district collectorate, cheesed off enough people in her office to have herself shunted to Washim. This middle of nowhere posting from a prime place in the state came after Puja’s relentless demands for perks like official residence, car, a biggish chamber etc. As an IAS officer all these would have come to her anyway, but she seemed too much in a hurry. This led her boss, the district’s collector, to report her demands to the government, which was embarrassed enough to shunt her to Washim immediately.

This country can forgive a lot of things, especially among the rich and the powerful, but one thing it does not easily forget is arrogance, as politicians and political parties know to their peril. Even in Puja’s case, the country had forgiven a lot. Nobody, for example, minded when she put on “Maharashtra Shasan” label on her private Audi. Nobody was bothered to collect the Rs27,000 worth of traffic violation tickets that the car had accumulated. The very rigorous UPSC was not concerned much when she claimed a disability benefit but repeatedly dodged the medical tests that would have certified the disability. Nobody checked her OBC non-creamy layer status even when publicly available records indicated significant amount of family wealth. Even her grabbing the chamber of a fellow officer senior to her was overlooked.

The system would have forgiven and forgotten even more. But Puja, like many crooks who have gamed the system often, did not know when to stop. It is obvious she believed she could get away with anything. And who could fault her after she had already got away with so much? It was only when she began rubbing the people who felt similarly entitled as her that she got into trouble. Her demands went on increasing to the point her seniors could no longer push the matter under the carpet. And once her situation became public, the fall from grace was quick, as is often the case.

Thereafter, it was open season on her and her family. All the skeletons, old and new, began tumbling out of the cupboard. The video of her mother threatening some farmers with a gun over a property dispute surfaced. Pune civic body suddenly discovered the family had encroached upon public land. Traffic police remembered the pending fines and promptly seized the car. The police booked her parents for threatening farmers prompting the elderly couple to go missing. Media dug out dubious stuff about her appointment and disability claims, even her admission to medical college.

Those who exploit their privilege need to be careful. When karma comes for them, it can be especially cruel. Puja seems to have met her comeuppance, at last. The newspapers and websites are full of unflattering headlines about her and her family. The matter has reached the Central Government which has appointed a one-man panel to probe into all the irregularities leading to her appointment. It is possible, though far from certain, that she may be fired. The family’s considerable wealth and influence seem finally of no use. Whether this remains so till the end, or both will reassert themselves once the media attention has moved on remains to be seen. But for now, the past is catching up with her.

What is surprising about the Puja Khedkar affair is not that she did all this but that she could do it all and yet not face the consequences for so long. The rest of us know what it is to enter one wrong fact in our applications or one false statement to any of the authorities. We can be hounded and punished. The very system that does not yield an inch to even genuine needs and demands of ordinary people stands at the beck and call of the powerful. I am not sure if the central government will probe just Puja’s case which has accidentally become public. Just how many Puja Khedkars might be hiding and in what all places? Her overreach may lead to her downfall, but there could be many with a little more restraint who never get noticed.

We did not know NEET could be gamed until it happened. Now we know that it is possible for even ineligible persons to enter the elite civil service of the country. It rankles that you and I cannot get our passports if we mention our stay particulars inaccurately, but some can get into civil service and rule us for decades. If NEET fraud brought disgrace to National Testing Agency, Puja’s case has done the same to UPSC. The damage is just as big if not bigger. Just like NTA is charged with selecting our future doctors who would treat patients for decades, UPSC is supposed to select our bureaucrats who can make a very long-term impact on the lives of the people. You do not play fast and loose with such institutions. If faith in such institutions is lost, then what survives? Just how far and wide has the rot spread? Is there anything we can trust?

This may sound odd, but, in a way, we ought to be grateful to Puja Khedkar. Had she possessed just a wee bit of good sense, she would have continued to fly under the radar forever. Indeed, the radar was more than eager to let her remain invisible. More than her, the radar itself should be in the dock.

This column appeared in Lokmat Times on July 17, 2024