By Mahi Jain
A truck driver involved in a road accident in Navi Mumbai went missing only to be found at the Pune residence of Puja Khedkar, a former IAS probationer, as per the police statement on Sunday.
Prahlad Kumar, the driver of a concrete mixer truck, was going along the Mulund-Airoli road near a signal, when an SUV hit his vehicle. After the crash, the two men who were in the car reportedly pushed Kumar into their car and kidnapped him. When the search for him got stuck, his family lodged a missing person report.
The Rabale Police, with the help of technical surveillance and location tracking, led them to the suspect car in Chatushringi, Pune, and they found the car parked outside Khedkar’s residence. Kumar was found during the police intervention and was taken out of the house with the police.
The mother of Puja Khedkar, Manorama Khedkar, is accused of obstructing the police as she allegedly failed to open the gate, blocked their entry and was misbehaving with the staff. According to news reports, police brought her in for questioning.
Last year, Puja Khedkar was dismissed from the Indian Administrative Service. Her name was struck off the merit list by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) because of her selection being cancelled. She was then found guilty of faking her identity, falsely using the OBC and differently-abled quotas, and was given a lifetime ban from taking the civil services exams.