NEW DELHI — The central government has discharged Puja Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect, over a month after the Union Public Service Commission cancelled her selection, official sources said on Saturday. Khedkar, who was a trainee officer from the 2023 batch, has been accused of cheating and wrongly availing Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits to ensure her selection in the government service. She has denied all allegations. The central government, vide order dated September 6, 2024, “discharged” Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service under Rule 12 of IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954, with immediate effect, the sources said. An IAS officer is “dismissed” from service while a probationer is “discharged”. One of the provisions of Rule 12 provides for discharge on the grounds of a probationer being found to be ineligible to be recruited to the Service, they said. Also read: RG Kar scam: CBI finds documents of medical equipment never purchased but billed Khedkar, who was provisionally allotted the Indian Administrative Service (Maharashtra cadre), on the basis of the result of the civil services examination (CSE)-2022 taken by her, was also accused of misusing power and privileges during her training in Pune. A...