IAS trainee Puja Khedkar's mother sent to police custody until July 20 in illegal arms case

Amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding IAS trainee Puja Khedkar, in the latest, her mother, Manorama Khedkar, has now been sent to police custody by a local court. Manorama will remain in custody till July 20, even though the Pune police had asked the court for a seven-day custody.

The Pune Police arrested Manorama on Thursday morning, July 18, with regard to one of her viral videos on social media, where she was seen threatening farmers while pointing a gun at them in Pune's Mulshi district. She was arrested from Mahad near Raigad district, where she stayed in a hotel. 

Her husband and former IAS officer Dilip Khedkar allegedly amassed wealth and bought 25 acres of land in Mulshi taluka.

The Khedkar family, however, tried to increase their land holdings by trying to encroach on neighbouring land. An FIR was registered against her at the Paud police station under sections 323, 504, and 506 of the IPC.

Charges under the Arms Act were also filed against her. An FIR was also registered against Dilip Khedkar and 5 others, according to newswire ANI. 

Meanwhile, villagers of Bhalgaon in Pathardi taluka, the native village of Manorama Khedkar, said recently in a statement to the Collector of Ahmednagar that she is being defamed and warned of a strong agitation from Bhalgaon to Mumbai if this is not stopped, as per media reports.

They said in the letter that Manorama Khedkar transformed Bhalgaon when she was the sarpanch of the village. The statement further said that on June 5 last year around noon, some gangsters attempted to attack Khedkar in the Mulshi area with sticks and sharp waists. 

They further claimed that her security guards tried to disperse the crowd but failed to do so. She then pulled out a licensed pistol for self-defense, as per the villagers and that the present allegations amount to defamation of the Khedkar family. 

The statement further said that the village delegation will meet Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, seeking a transparent probe into the incident.