New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS): A snatcher suffered a bullet injury during an encounter with the Noida Police on Saturday morning, an official said.

Pintu, alias Nevla, was shot in the leg during a brief exchange of fire between him and the police. According to the official, the accused snatcher was active in the area coming under the jurisdiction of sector 24 police station in Noida.

Furnishing details about the operation, Additional SP, Ranvijay Singh said they had already deployed several teams to curb the street crime in the city. "We had received reports that a certain snatcher in the area was specifically targeting morning walkers and robbing them," the official said.

On Saturday morning around 9.30 a.m., the cops deployed on duty signalled to stop a man on a motorcycle which did not have a number plate. But the accused person tried to escape.

However, the police caught him after chasing him for some distance. "The accused started firing at the police personnel and in retaliation was shot in the leg," the official said, adding that he was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.

During preliminary inquiry, the accused has been found involved in over 18 cases of robbery and snatching. "He was committing the said crime in the whole Delhi-NCR," the official said.

The police have recovered a country made pistol and a mobile phone from the accused's possession.

"Further probe is on," the official added.