Bareilly (UP), Jun 13 (IANS): A burglar shot himself dead with country made revolver when he found he was being chased by the police.

The incident took place in Faridpur area of Bareilly district on Saturday.

According to police, Ajay Singh with his two aides, Abhishek and Anchal, were about to loot the house of a local timber merchant when a team of cops reached the spot and asked them to surrender.

The burglars had parked their van outside the house which was locked and empty. The cops on patrol had earlier found the same van on another deserted stretch and became suspicious.

Sensing a robbery, the cops moved in. They found Singh inside and asked him to lay down his weapons. Police claimed that Singh responded by shooting at them and then jumped over to a neighbouring house. The cops followed him.

Fearing that police may shoot back at him, he 'killed himself' on the terrace.

The police said that Anchal managed to flee in the van but Abhishek was arrested.

Faridpur SHO Surendra Singh sent in reinforcements and Anchal was also arrested.

Two FIRs have been registered against the deceased robber and his two aides under sections of robbery and Arms Act.

Ajay Singh's family, however, alleged that he was shot by cops. No official complaint has been lodged from their side as yet.

Bareilly SSP Rohit Singh Sajwan said, "Ajay Singh, a history-sheeter, shot himself with his country-made pistol after he was surrounded by police and could not find an escape route. The team found him dead on the terrace of a house."

"Circumstantial evidence suggested that he shot himself with his pistol. Later, we took the opinion of our field unit who conducted a 'gunshot residue' analysis through a ballistic kit. It confirmed that the pistol was in his hand when the bullet was fired," the SSP added.

Additional SP (Rural) Rajkumar Agarwal told reporters that, "Ajay Singh had multiple cases of robbery and dacoity registered against him in Bareilly. There is a possibility that he took the step due to the fear of an encounter. He had fired shots at the police team earlier and more force was called in to catch him."