Puri, May 31: A notorious criminal was shot and injured during an exchange of fire with police in Puri late on Saturday night, adding to the series of non-fatal encounters across the State.

Bishnu Jena alias Chandan, who has 30 cases registered against him, sustained a bullet wound near his right knee during the police operation near Omkareshwar area under Baselisahi police station.

Acting on a tip-off that Chandan and his associates was planning to commit crime, a special police team raided the area. When confronted, Chandan attempted to flee and opened fire on the police.

“The intelligence input suggested that he was armed. Acting on the information, police moved to apprehend him. However, he allegedly opened fire on the police personnel. Our personnel resorted to controlled retaliatory firing, leading to Chandan’s injury,” said Puri City DSP Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra.

He was immediately rushed to Puri District Headquarters Hospital and lated shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack.

While Bishnu was apprehended after being injured, his associates reportedly managed to escape from the spot.

Chandan, a resident of Hatadanda under Chandrabhaga police station, is a habitual offender and faces more than 30 criminal cases in Puri, Konark, Bhubaneswar and other areas, including multiple highway robbery cases, police said.