IAS Officer Puja Khedkar's Audi Car, which had illegal red beacon, seized
Pune: Pune police on Sunday confiscated a luxury car used by controversial probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar for allegedly installing a red beacon light on it illegally, according to an official.
The Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) on Thursday issued a notice to a city-based private company, which is the registered owner of the Audi car that 34-year-old Khedkar used during her posting in Pune. The registered user’s address was listed as Shivane village in Haveli taluka.
Khedkar recently came under the spotlight after a controversy surrounding her demands for a separate cabin and staff during her posting in Pune. Additionally, she allegedly misused the disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) quota to secure a position in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
Khedkar is accused of using a red beacon light on the Audi car and having "Maharashtra Government" written on it without permission. Following the controversy, she was transferred from Pune to Washim district before the completion of her training.
"A notice was issued on Thursday against the unauthorized use of a beacon and name sign on the private sedan Khedkar had been using. The car has now been confiscated, its documents will be checked, and we are probing the matter further," a senior police official said on Sunday.
A jammer was put on the car, and barricades were installed around it, he added.
The Audi car, registered at the Pune RTO on June 27, 2012, has faced 21 challans with total charges of ₹27,000 for alleged traffic violations, all of which have been paid, as per officials.
As per Section 108 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) 1989, the state government can grant permission for the use of red or amber beacon lights on official vehicles to VIPs, VVIPs, and government officials. In December 2013, the state government revised the list of posts entitled to use beacons, based on Supreme Court directives, and published it in 2014.
The Centre has constituted a single-member committee "to verify the candidature" of the 2023-batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre. An additional secretary-rank officer will conduct the probe to verify claims over Khedkar's candidature and other details. She may be terminated from service if found guilty, official sources said.
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Hospital wall collapse: CM orders suspension of executive engineer; kin of victims get solatium
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday ordered the immediate suspension of an executive engineer for the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital wall collapse that claimed the lives of seven people, during a high-level review meeting at Vidhana Soudha.
A compensation of Rs 5 lakh, as announced by the CM Siddaramaiah, was distributed to the families of seven victims who lost their lives in the tragedy on Wednesday evening, which occurred due to heavy downpour with gusty winds and hailstorm.
The meeting of municipal commissioners of the five corporations, chaired by the chief minister and attended by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, focused on fixing accountability and examining lapses that led to the tragedy.
"Why was soil dumped in a way that damaged the wall? Why did you not monitor this?" Siddaramaiah asked, pulling up hospital authorities during the meeting.
A statement from the chief minister's office said that the CM ordered the immediate suspension of the executive engineer of the Karnataka Health Systems Development Project (KHSDP).
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He also questioned the hospital authorities, asking why they failed to monitor the dumping of soil that weakened the structure.
The chief minister directed that a notice be issued to the head of the Hospital.
During the meeting, Siddaramaiah said the rains had caused extensive damage in the city, with over 250 trees uprooted.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to take necessary measures before the onset of the monsoon to avoid untoward incidents.
Commissioners of all five municipal zones in Bengaluru have been asked to take precautionary steps, including trimming dry and dangerous tree branches, the CMO said.
Siddaramaiah also directed them to get the silt cleared from stormwater drains to prevent flooding, and that immediate action be taken to remove debris and fallen branches from roads.
Further, he instructed that barricades be placed at underpasses where water stagnates and restricts public movement.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said in a statement that Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad distributed compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased on Thursday.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed amid heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
Police said the victims, comprising three from Bengaluru, two from Kerala on a study tour and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Assam, had taken shelter near the wall when it suddenly gave way, trapping them under the debris.
The chief minister questioned officials over the dumping of soil near the wall despite knowing it could weaken the structure, and directed that a notice be issued to the head of Bowring Hospital.
Siddaramaiah, who had visited the spot soon after the incident along with senior officials, reviewed the situation and ordered a detailed probe into the collapse.
