Lucknow, Sep 18 - A man under trial for a string of criminal offences was shot dead by police in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district early Friday when he jumped off a running train in a bid to escape, officials said.

Jameel, who faces charges in over a dozen cases of murder, loot and kidnapping, was lodged in the Pilibhit district jail and taken to Lucknow for a court hearing.

Three constables were escorting Jameel and two other criminals when he jumped off the running train on the outskirts of Sitapur district around 1 a.m. while they were returning to Pilibhit.

'We also jumped off the train and after a warning, we opened fire at him. After a search of about half an hour, we found him lying in a field adjacent to the railway track,' constable Kailash Chand Paras told reporters.

'The criminal was rushed to the hospital but soon succumbed to the injuries,' Inspector R.R.Singh of Hargaon police station told IANS.

The other two criminals, Raj Kumar and Rehman, were safely escorted back to the Pilibhit jail by the three constables after the incident.