Puja Khedkar's father and his bodyguard abducted truck driver after road rage; rescued: Police

Mumbai/Pune: In a new twist to the Navi Mumbai road rage case, police on Monday claimed that former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar's father and his bodyguard had abducted a truck driver in their SUV.

The driver was rescued from the house of Puja Khedkar in Pune on Sunday within hours of the incident, which occurred on Saturday evening.

The incident occurred on the Mulund-Airoli Road in Navi Mumbai after the concrete mixer truck driven by Prahlad Kumar (22) brushed against a Land Cruiser car, leading to an argument between him and two occupants of the four-wheeler, a Rabale police official said.

The investigation revealed that Khedkar's father, Dilip Khedkar, and his bodyguard, Praful Salunkhe, bundled Kumar in the SUV and took him to Manorama Khedkar's bungalow.

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.

Police tracked the SUV to Pune based on technical analysis.

When police personnel reached the bungalow of Khedkar on Sunday, her mother allegedly prevented them from entering, leading to a heated exchange, an official said.

However, the team managed to enter the premises, rescued Kumar, and brought him back to Navi Mumbai, he said.

Pune police have registered a case against Khedkar's mother for allegedly obstructing the police and issued a notice.

Simultaneously, Navi Mumbai Police registered a case of kidnapping against the SUV's occupants under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) on charges of kidnapping.

The official said the names of Dilip Khedkar and Praful Salunkhe are being added to the FIR. Nobody has been arrested so far.

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

On Monday afternoon, a team from Pune and Navi Mumbai Police arrived at Manorama Khedekar's house 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," a Pune Police official 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 attempting to take the civil services exam by faking her identity. Delhi Police had 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.