Controversial IAS probationer Puja Khedkar has been told to report to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie, before July 23. On Tuesday, the Maharashtra government received LBSNAA’s instructions, and informed the officer, who worked as the supernumerary assistant collector in Washim, that she was relieved because her training programme was put on hold by the academy. 

The LBSNAA wrote to the state early Tuesday asking that it relieve Khedkar, who has courted a series of allegations regarding her appointment and misconduct during the probation period in Maharashtra. She was transferred to Washim from Pune as she was reported for misconduct by the Pune collector. The medical graduate is accused of furnishing false information, and questions have been raised over her appointment in the elite IAS cadre under the Other Backward Class (OBC) and physically handicapped categories, despite being ranked low (821) in the 2022 UPSC civil services examination.