"Changed Her Name, Also Parents' Names": UPSC On How Puja Khedkar Cheated

Puja Khedkar - the former IAS trainee officer - lied about visual and mental disabilities, and faked her identity, to pass the Civil Services entrance exam.

Puja Khedkar - the former IAS trainee officer who lied about visual and mental disabilities, and faked her identity, to pass the Civil Services entrance exam - attempted the uber-competitive qualifying test more than the six times permitted for a general category candidate.

She did so by changing her name, and that of her parents, which is why the Union Public Services Commission, which administers the exam, could not detect the violation.

On the question of fake certificates - one claiming a physical disability and the other membership of an OBC, or Other Backward Class, the UPSC said it had only carried out a "preliminary scrutiny" of Ms Khedkar's papers during the application process last year.