Sacked IAS Puja Khedkar alleges domestic help drugged family, stole valuables in Pune

Pune: Pune police have begun a preliminary investigation after former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar alleged that a domestic help sedated her and her parents at their bungalow on Baner Road before fleeing with valuables. The incident was reported late on Saturday night, police officials said on Sunday.

Pune police have initiated a preliminary inquiry after sacked IAS probationer Puja Khedkar alleged that a domestic help sedated her and her parents at their bungalow on Baner Road. The incident was reported late on Saturday night, officials said.

Allegations of sedation and theft

According to Khedkar, a recently hired domestic worker allegedly mixed sedatives into food or drinks, rendering her and her parents, Dilip and Manorama Khedkar, unconscious. She claimed the accused then tied them up with ropes and fled with mobile phones and other valuables from the house.

Khedkar told police that she later managed to free herself using a door latch and contacted authorities using another phone. Police said the complaint was made verbally and that no written complaint or formal FIR has been registered so far.

Preliminary probe underway

Despite the absence of a formal complaint, Pune police have started a preliminary probe to verify the claims. Officials said details of the allegedly stolen items have not yet been formally provided. The domestic help, reportedly from Nepal and hired around eight days earlier, is being treated as the prime suspect.

The Khedkar family has been in the news previously. Last year, police registered a case against Dilip and Manorama Khedkar over an alleged road rage incident in Navi Mumbai, in which they were accused of abducting a truck driver. Manorama Khedkar was also accused of pointing a pistol during a land-related dispute.

Puja Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS probationer of the Maharashtra cadre, was earlier removed from service following allegations that she misrepresented facts in her 2022 UPSC civil services examination application to claim reservation benefits. She has denied all allegations.

Police said further action in the case will depend on the submission of a formal written complaint and verification of the allegations made.