Former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar’s mother, Manorama Khedkar, is accused of helping two men escape after they allegedly abducted a truck driver and took him to the family’s bungalow in Pune. Navi Mumbai Police officials said Manorama also unleashed “ferocious” dogs to intimidate officers attempting to make arrests.
The accused have been identified as Puja Khedkar’s father, Dilip Khedkar, and his bodyguard, Praful Salunkhe. Both remain absconding.
The case began on Saturday evening when a truck driven by Prahlad Kumar, 22, brushed against a Land Cruiser on the Mulund-Airoli Road in Navi Mumbai. An argument followed, after which Dilip Khedkar and Salunkhe allegedly forced Kumar into the SUV and drove him to the Khedkar residence in Baner, Pune. The driver was rescued by police within hours on Sunday.
When Navi Mumbai Police, along with Pune’s Chatushringi police, reached the bungalow, Kumar was released, but the gates were locked. Officers said Manorama refused to cooperate, clicked photos of the FIR, and assured she would bring in the accused by 3 p.m., but later refused and allegedly removed the car used in the crime.
Police claim she then helped the accused flee and unleashed two aggressive dogs inside the premises to scare the officers. A case has been registered against her under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 221 for obstructing a public servant.
On Monday, a joint police team returned to the bungalow but found Manorama missing. “With no one to open the gate, police personnel scaled the iron gate to enter but she was not present inside,” said Uttam Bhajanawale, senior inspector of Chatushringi police station.
The investigation is ongoing, and the accused remain untraceable.
