New Delhi - At least four gangsters were injured in a gunbattle with police in an upmarket area of the Indian capital New Delhi on Monday, police said.

Notorious gangster Satya Prakash was among those admitted to a state-run hospital after the shoot-out in the Green Park area of southern Delhi, Ajay Kashyap, joint commissioner of police, Southern Range, told reporters.

Satya Prakash, who is believed to have been behind a string of bank robberies in and around Delhi in recent months, was in a car with three associates when he was intercepted by police teams.

"The gang was desperate and had planned to loot a bank in the congested commercial area. A gunbattle erupted as the criminals opened fire as soon as they saw police," another senior police officer, HS Dhaliwal, said.

"Satya Prakash and his men sustained multiple gun-shot injuries, but none of them is critical," Dhaliwal said, adding that four other gangsters who were in another car fled from the scene.

Delhi Police have sounded a red alert and were carrying out intensive checking across the city to nab the armed criminals.

Dhaliwal added that the scene of the shoot-out had been sealed off to enable the police to collect evidence. (dpa)