Guwahati, Dec 12 (IANS): A suspected thief was shot numerous times by police during an encounter in Assam's Golaghat district following which he died, an official said on Monday.

According to the police, the incident happened on Sunday night in Dergaon area of Golaghat district.

The deceased, identified as Lagan Sahani, was charged with multiple thefts and robberies.

He was one of the district's most sought criminals, the police claimed.

Lagan was brought into custody by a Dergaon Police Station team on Sunday night in order to conduct more investigation.

A senior police officer said: "He promised to show us the whereabouts of all the stolen goods. Additionally, he told us they had a group of thieves and that he would assist the police in apprehending the others."

The police said that after Lagan led them to a residence close to Dergaon area, and they began searching, he unexpectedly attacked a police officer and took his gun.

"He tried to escape with the help of the gun, and we had to fire bullets at him in self-defence," the police said. According to the police, Lagan was rushed to a government hospital with multiple bullet injuries, but the doctors pronounced him dead.

The deceased person's body has been sent to Golaghat Medical College for postmortem.