Wanted criminal, aide held in Noida after encounter with police

A man wanted in around a dozen criminal cases and his accomplice were arrested here on Tuesday night after an exchange of fire with police, officials said.

The gunfight broke out around 10 pm near a petrol pump in Sector 54, under Sector 24 police station limits, where they had come allegedly with a plan for chain snatching, a senior official said.

The wanted criminal suffered bulled injuries during the encounter, the police said.

"The injured has been identified as Mantosh Jha, a native of Motihari district in Bihar, and he has around 12 cases of loot and robbery registered against him. He has been detained under the Gangsters Act also in the past," Senior Superintendent of Police, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Vaibhav Krishna said.

"Jha and his aide were intercepted by the local police for inspection but they opened fired and fled. He got injured in retaliatory firing, while the other man has been held," Krishna added.

Their firearms and ammunition were seized and motorcycle impounded, he said, adding Jha has been sent to hospital for treatment.

Further proceedings are underway, the SSP said.

Earlier on Tuesday, two alleged criminals, including one having a reward of Rs one lakh on his arrest, were held here after a shootout with the police in Sector 100.

Accused Irshad Saifi and his aide Armaan suffered injuries on their legs during the exchange of fire around 3.30 am near the State Bank of India cut in Sector 100, Krishna said.

On Sunday, two alleged criminals were arrested in Greater Noida's Bisrakh area after exchange of fire with the police, officials said. The accused, who were fleeing after snatching a woman's chain, were shot in the legs by a police team chasing them and then hospitalised, the police said.