If not for destiny, you might well walk into a branch of one of the nationalized banks today and transact with Praful Bhosle. Yes, the most low-profile from the batch of 1983 was a bank clerk before he decided to appear for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission exams.
A perfect mix of charm and ruthlessness made the cops love him and the gangsters hate him.
If there was any doubt about Bhosle's popularity among cops, one just had to see the number of cops who had assembled for his court hearings and hear to chats of 'Praful Bhosle aage badho; Hum tumhare saath hain!'
Bhosle, who hit both the Dawood and Chhota Rajan gangs, is most talked about for the patient manner in which he tagged and followed meticulously Dawood's key sharpshooter, Arif Kalia, for weeks before eliminating him.
In a 11-month period when he was under the tutelage of then deputy commissioner Param Bir Singh, he eliminated at least 35 gangsters.
Even his brush with controversy -- again, the Khwaja Younus case -- is said to be only because he was trying to protect some of his fellow officers. Though he has now been reinstated in the force, the shadow of doubt will always stick to him.
Also read: Crime is in Sobharaj's blood
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