Once aspiring to be a civil servant, working to ensure just and fair policing, he is today, ironically, an accused in several kidnapping cases. Forty-year old Ajit Atmaram Aparaj, who was arrested earlier this week, told his interrogators that he had taken the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams three times, and failed on all counts.

The Crime Branch arrested Aparaj, his wife and seven others on April 27 in connection with the kidnapping of the son of a Ghatkopar businessman. The abducted man, a 21-year-old, was released after his father paid Rs 2 crore in ransom to Aparaj and his gang. Incidentally, Aparaj holds a degree in mechanical engineering.

"Aparaj told us that he had appeared for the competitive exams of UPSC and always wanted to be an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer," said an officer on condition of anonymity from Unit 6 of Mumbai crime branch. "He was the mastermind of three kidnappings and some car thefts. All these crimes are registered against the gang and it is very evident that he is intelligent."

The gang's arrest came after the police spoke to the Ghatkopar businessman's son following his release. The victim told the police that on one of the days when he was in captivity, he heard one of Aparaj's accomplices, Manish Gangurde, inform the others that his wife had delivered a baby, and that he would have to rush to Mumbai to see his family. The crime branch team pursued this lead and enquired at all possible maternity homes. They soon found the details of Gangurde and arrested him. Gangurde then spilled the beans on the rest of the gang and they were all arrested. After the gang was arrested, their involvement in two more kidnappings carried out a few years ago came to light. They also squealed about a few car thefts they were involved in.