The Navi Mumbai police have reported to the Maharashtra government that controversial probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar had allegedly tried to pressure a DCP-rank officer to release a man held in a theft case, an official said on Friday.
The incident had occurred on May 18 at Panvel police station wherein Khedkar allegedly phoned Deputy Commissioner of Police Vivek Pansare and urged him to release a transporter, Ishwar Uttarwade, arrested in a theft case.
Khedkar apparently told the DCP that Uttarwade was innocent and that the charges against him were minor, the official said.
Though Khedkar had identified herself during the phone call with Pansare, the DCP was not sure whether the caller was indeed an IAS officer or an imposter, the official said.
The Navi Mumbai police did not act on the call and Uttarwade is still in judicial custody for the alleged crime, he said.