A thief running away with a woman's purse in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida was chased down by a traffic police constable on foot after a pursuit of nearly a kilometer, officials said on Thursday. The thief snatched the purse from a woman waiting at the busy Surajpur roundabout around 6.30 pm, following which she raised an alarm, they said.


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"A young man, aged around 20-21, snatched her purse and fled the crowded area but traffic constable Ashish Kumar chased him for about a kilometre, recovered the purse and handed him over to the local police," a police spokesperson said.


The feat won Kumar, 28, praise not only from the woman but also from social media users who lauded him for his fitness and dedication. Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissioner Alok Singh also took to Twitter to laud the constable's effort and announced a reward for him. While there were several people at the spot at the time of the incident, only the constable bothered to give the thief a chase, according to police officials.


"The woman was in panic and urged for help. I was on duty, clearing tempos which had stopped at the roundabout during the peak traffic hours," Kumar said.


"I immediately chased the thief, who first ran towards the Dadri road and then changed direction towards Pari Chowk. I pursued him for about a kilometre and finally caught hold of him," Kumar told PTI.


Kumar, who hails from Muzaffarnagar but was posted in Gautam Buddh Nagar three years ago, said he was happy to have served the public.


The constable also shared that he works out three or four times a week to be physically and mentally fit.


"Besides this, as a traffic policeman, we have to put in physical labour every day at work. That also helped," he added.