Jha was overpowered by the police near Savera Talkies at Malvani at around 4 pm. A .315 caliber country-made revolver with a live round was recovered from him, said PSI Vilas Gangwane, a member of the squad.

Twenty-eight-year-old Jha is wanted in 25 cases in Bihar State, including 12 murders, rapes and extortion. Jha was also named as one of India's most wanted gangsters in a TV serial.

After being tipped-off that Jha was to arrive in Malad to meet a relative, a special squad attached to unit-10 under Assistant Commissioner of Ambadas Pote had positioned themselves in the narrow lanes near the deserted cinema hall. The gangster fled towards the marshy swamp on seeing some policemen in plain clothes, said the police. While Inspector Sunil Deshmukh chased him, his colleagues API Raju Pillai, Allad Gaikwad, Shantaram Gogle blocked the way from the oppositedirection. Investigations have revealed that Jha was heading the Butan Singh Gang, which had unleashed terror in Purnea district of Bihar. He escaped to Mumbai to evade arrest and sought safer haven at Rahul Pada, a neighbourhood at Dahisar (E).

The police said Jha was involved in the killing of Suryanarayan Yadav at Kehat district on March 20 this year. Two month later he killed travel agent Pavan Kumar Mahato after snatching an AK 47 assault rifle from a police constable posted nearby in the same district. Even as the Mumbai police is awaiting more information on him, a police team from Bihar is expected to arrive here to escort him back to Bihar to face trails.