In the early hours of Thursday, Pune Rural Police apprehended Manorama Khedkar, mother of IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar, from a lodge in Mahad, Raigad district. The arrest is linked to charges of rioting, threatening behavior, and violation of the Arms Act.
The Paud police in rural Pune registered the case against Manorama and six others, including Puja’s father, Dilip Khedkar, on July 12. This followed the circulation of a viral video on social media showing Manorama brandishing a .25 Webley & Scott pistol during a heated argument with farmers over a land ownership dispute in Dhadhawali village, Mulshi tehsil, on June 5, 2023. The video also depicted her accompanied by private bouncers. One of the farmers involved subsequently lodged a complaint.
Superintendent of Police (Pune Rural) Pankaj Deshmukh informed the Times of India, “Our team tracked down Manorama’s movements and detained her at the lodge in Mahad early Thursday morning. We continue to search for Dilip Khedkar.”
A senior Pune Rural police officer, who preferred to remain anonymous, disclosed that Manorama had been using a private cab to move between different locations since the case was registered against her.
Manorama was expected to be presented before a magisterial court in Paud on Thursday afternoon for custodial remand proceedings. In their efforts to locate the Khedkar couple, separate police teams had previously visited Pathardi in Ahmednagar district, where the Khedkars have their ancestral home, as well as Lonavla and Mumbai.
Manorama Khedkar was issued a firearm license by Pune City Police in 2000 for self-defense. Following the case registered by the Paud police, Pune City Police issued a notice to Manorama, demanding an explanation for why her firearm license should not be revoked due to the violation of license terms.
With Manorama’s formal arrest by Pune Rural Police, the investigation continues as authorities search for her husband and other accomplices involved in the incident.