Fraud Before UPSC? OBC Non-Creamy Layer Certificate Used By Controversial Trainee IAS Puja Khedkar For MBBS Seat Also

Trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar who is currently facing controversy over the legitimacy of her certificates has now been revealed to have also secured MBBS admission in 2007 using the same documents.

Her admission in Pune’s Shrimati Kashibai Navale Medical College and General Hospital took place under the reserved nomadic tribe-3 category through a non-creamy layer OBC certificate, college director Arvind Bhore revealed on Saturday (13 July).

Khedkar had gained admission through the entrance test conducted by the Association of Management of Unaided Private Medical and Dental Colleges of Maharashtra (AMUPMDC), scoring 146 out of 200.

Bhore stated, "Khedkar had also attempted the Maharashtra common entrance test for medical admissions. However, her AMUPMDC score was higher than the state CET. She had provided a non-creamy layer certificate of the NT-3 category of the Vanjari community at the time of admission."

"We checked all the documents at the time of submission and found them to be authentic govt records. Her conduct was fine and she passed all her semesters with ease while her internship at the hospital was also completed on time,” Bhore added.

Bhore also noted that she did not submit any disability certificate at the time of admission.

Khedkar’s non-creamy layer certificate was issued by the Pathardi sub-divisional office in Ahmednagar in 2007. According to college records, her caste and validity certificates were also issued by the same office.

As per a 2017 notification issued by the Union Government’s Department of Personnel and Training, a candidate belonging to a family with an annual income of less than Rs 8 lakh only would be eligible to seek an OBC Non-Creamy Layer Certificate. Contrary to this criteria, Khedkar’s family income is seen way above the annual income cut-off decided by the Union government.