Pune: City police commissioner Amitesh Kumar has said that the police have revoked the firearm licence issued in 2000 to Manorama Khedkar, mother of probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar. “We had issued a show cause notice to the licence holder seeking an explanation as to why the licence should not be cancelled. We did not get any reply, and we concluded that the licence was not in the public interest.
Hence, we have cancelled it,” Kumar told TOI on Friday. Pune Rural police on July 12 had registered a case against Manorama after a video showing her brandishing a .25 Webley & Scott licensed pistol at some farmers on June 5, 2023, during an altercation over a land ownership dispute at Dhadhawali village in Mulshi tehsil, went viral.
One of the farmers, Pandharinath Pasalkar, lodged a complaint and recorded a supplementary statement on July 17 claiming that Manorama had put the firearm on his head and almost pulled the trigger before she was dragged away by others present there. The police then added an attempted murder charge (a non-bailable offence) to the earlier case of rioting, threatening and Arms Act violation. On July 18 the police arrested Manorama at a private homestay at Hirkaniwadi in Mahad tehsil of Raigad district, and the next day, they seized the pistol at her bungalow in Baner.
A Pune sessions court on August 2 ordered Manorama’s release on bail. We also published the following articles recently Intimidation case against Pujas father, moms arms licence r.