Truck driver abducted, rescued from ex-IAS probationer Puja Khedkar's house

A truck driver, allegedly abducted by two persons in an SUV after a road rage incident in Navi Mumbai, was rescued from the house of former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar in Pune, police said on Monday.

The Pune police have registered a case against Puja Khedkar's mother, Manorama Khedkar, for allegedly obstructing police when they tried to enter the house to look for the driver on Sunday, they said.

Besides, the Navi Mumbai police have registered a case of kidnapping against the SUV occupants.

Puja Khedkar has been accused of cheating and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits in the civil services examination.

The alleged abduction took place on the Mulund-Airoli Road in Navi Mumbai township adjoining Mumbai on Saturday evening when Prahlad Kumar (22) was driving his concrete mixer truck, the police said.

The truck brushed against an SUV, following which an argument took place between Kumar and two occupants of the four-wheeler, a Rabale police official said.

The SUV occupants then forcibly took Kumar in their vehicle under the pretext of taking him to a police station and fled the spot, the official said.

Based on a complaint lodged by the truck owner, Rabale police registered a case under section 137(2) (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against two unidentified persons on Sunday.

The police later tracked the SUV to Pune.

Based on technical evidence, the Navi Mumbai police found that Kumar was taken to Pune, following which a team went there on Sunday, the official said.

''We traced the vehicle and the victim to a bungalow belonging to Puja Khedkar,'' the official said.

Initially, Khedkar's mother allegedly prevented the police from entering the house and quarrelled with them. However, the team managed to enter the premises, rescued Kumar and brought him back to Navi Mumbai, he said.

''A team from Rabale police station had come in connection with the case of kidnapping of a truck driver, who was traced to Manorama Khedkar's bungalow in Pune. When the police team reached her bungalow, she did not cooperate and allegedly obstructed them from discharging their duties,'' senior inspector Uttam Bhajanawale of Pune's Chatushrungi police station said.

He said that after the road rage incident, the two SUV occupants forcibly took the truck driver in their vehicle and brought him to Manorama's bungalow.

Following a complaint by a Rabale police officer, a case has been registered by the Chatushrungi police against Manorama Khedkar under BNS section 221 (obstructing any public servant in the discharge of his public functions), he said.

The Navi Mumbai police have also issued a notice to her to appear before them for questioning.

''Further investigation is underway to identify the kidnappers and their motive,'' the police added.

Meanwhile, a team from Pune and Navi Mumbai police arrived at Manorama Khedekar's on Monday afternoon to probe the case, but she was not found there.

''Since no one was present to open the main gate of the bungalow, police personnel jumped over the iron gate and entered the premises. But Manorama Khedekar was not found inside,'' Bhajanawale said.

The team conducted a search, but barring the caretaker of the property, no one was present inside the premises, police said.

Puja Khedkar is accused of misrepresenting facts in her application for the 2022 UPSC civil services examination to avail herself of reservation benefits. She has refuted all the allegations against her.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has initiated a series of actions against Khedkar, including lodging a criminal case, for availing attempts in the civil services exam by faking her identity, and the Delhi police lodged an FIR against her for various offences.

After the controversy erupted over Puja Khedkar's appointment as a probationary IAS officer, a video surfaced last year in which her mother was seen threatening a farmer. Manorama Khedkar was subsequently arrested and later released on bail.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)