"The police team arrested Laddan from his hideout in Noida. His pistol and his Scorpio jeep have also been seized," police Inspector Vijay Prakash said.

Meena and Munabbar Hussain were passing through the busy Sector 31-25 crossing near Nithari when they spotted Laddan.

The couple then accosted Laddan and started beating him, police said. The man whipped out a pistol and fired at them.

The woman took a bullet in her stomach while Munabbar was injured in the abdomen.

They were rushed to the nearby Kailash Hospital where doctors said Meena's condition was critical. Munabbar is stable.

“Laddan said when they (Meena and Munabbar) started beating him, he had no option but to open fire at them,” Prakash said.

Earlier, when Meena married Munabbar, Laddan asked her to give back the house he had presented to her.

Initially, she refused but later paid him Rs.12 lakh.

But after a month, she asked Laddan to return the cash and promised to pay him by cheque, which later bounced. Laddan then issued a legal notice to her.

However, Munabbar denied any property dispute, and said Laddan was harassing Meena over one pretext or the other and had stalked her on several occasions.