The injured dacoit, Shriram Neware of Badnera, who received a bullet injury near one of his ears and arms, was removed to the Irwin Hospital at Amravati and was likely to be shifted here today for further treatment, GRP sources said. Investigators have identified six of Neware's associates and have launched a hunt for them.

The incident occurred around 2.30 am on Saturday when Neware and his aides, who were armed with swords and other sharp weapons, tried to board the Howrah-bound train near Badnera station.

A five-member GRP squad which had laid an ambush nearby as part of its exercise to guard against train robberies in the wake of some recent incidents, noticed the gangsters' movements andrushed towards the site.

Sensing trouble, the gangsters started running away from the spot. In the process, they allegedly charged at the GRP men with their weapons, prompting constable Pundalik Madavi to open fire in defence.

Madavi, who is a trainer with the Local Crime Branch (LCB) of the GRP at Nagpur, fired three rounds from his pistol, two of which hit Neware. The third missed the target.

Despite the injury, Neware kept running for over a 100 m before he fell and was apprehended by GRP men. His aides managed to escape.

Meanwhile, the GRP authorities hope that Neware's arrest might yield a breakthrough in some recent instances of dacoity on trains. ``We are looking into his record though we have not yet come across any criminal case against Neware. He seems to be a new recruit. However, all his aides were regular offenders,'' GRP Superintendent Vineet Agarwal told The Indian Express.

He said the GRP had stepped up vigilance after a chain-snatching incident aboard the train near Badneraon April 10. ``Just a few days ago, one of our men was stabbed by armed miscreants near Bhusawal station and another stabbed in a similar incident near Badnera,'' he said.

Apart from Madavi, constables Dashrath Gondhale, also from the LCB here and constables Namdeo Ingle, Vinayak Roopnarayan and Khandekar, all from the GRP at Badnera, took on the gangsters.