The incident happened around 1 pm on a crowded main road near Chitale Chowk in Rahata city, barely 5 km from the famous pilgrim town of Shirdi.
Two plain clothes policemen, Ajit Pathare, 27 and Rashid Sheikh, 26, espied two persons with their faces covered, on a motorcycle.
The cop duo, on a motorcycle on opposite side of the road, reversed, rushed to them and stopped their motorcycle in the midst of the traffic to make enquiries, said police official K. M. Pawar of Rahata Police Station.
"Without warning, one of them whipped out a country-made pistol and shot Pathare on his hand at point blank range. The bullet came out got and lodged in his shoulder. Meanwhile, Shaikh lunged at the shooter who fell from the motorcycle and they managed to catch the culprit," Pawar told .
The pillion rider, whose identity is not known, managed to take advantage of the large crowd which gathered there to escape and the police have launched a manhunt for him in Ahmednagar and neighbouring districts, he said.
The shooter turned out to be wanted robber and chain-snatcher Sachin L. Take who has 32 cases lodged against him in police stations all over Ahmednagar.
Police recovered the country-made pistol, and a live cartridge and seized the motorcycle while Take is currently in the lock-up.
The injured Pathare (27) underwent emergency surgery at Saideep Hospital and the bullet was successfully removed from his shoulder. His condition has been described as 'stable and improving' and he will be discharged after a few days, said Pawar.
The rare display of courage by the two policemen against a dangerous criminal has been lauded by their colleagues and admiration from people of Rahata, he said.
( With inputs from IANS )