Police in India say they have shot dead a man accused of killing eight policemen in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Vikas Dubey, who was on the run for nearly a week after the incident, was held in the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday.

Police said they were bringing him to Uttar Pradesh when a car he was in overturned.

They shot him when he reportedly stole a policeman’s gun and tried to flee.

Inspector general of police, Mohit Agarwal, told PTI news agency that policemen fired at the gangster in retaliation after he refused to surrender and shot at officers.

Police said he was arrested in a dramatic manner from a temple complex in Madhya Pradesh.

• Eight India policemen dead in gang shootout
• On-the-run gangster arrested in India

But opposition parties said he chose to publicly surrender at the temple after successfully escaping arrest for more than a week.

Some reports say he told the temple guards to call the police.

Opposition politicians had urged the police to ensure he was safely brought in front of a court to stand trial.

The case has been dominating headlines in India ever since the shootout last Friday killed eight police officers.

Two of the gangster’s aides have been killed in clashes with the police since then.

A police inspector belonging to a police station near Mr Dubey’s village was also arrested over allegations that he helped him.

Officers had been looking for Mr Dubey in connection with a case that had registered against him earlier in the week when they were fired upon.

Police said that although they had returned fire, they suffered heavy casualties as the gang members had been firing on them from a height.