A head constable died after he was shot while chasing a group of miscreants in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district, police said on Friday.

Head constable Rakesh Thakur died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Nagpur city of neighbouring Maharashtra, an official said.

Acting on a lead in a theft case, a team of police personnel was chasing the miscreants who were fleeing towards Chhindwara in an SUV on Thursday night, he said.

On noticing the police on Lakhanwada road, the miscreants turned their vehicle towards Seoni town and stopped near Bamhodi to check for police presence, when a team led by head constable Thakur spotted them, the official said.

One of the four accused opened fire with his pistol, and the bullet hit Thakur on his chest, fatally injuring him, he said.

Three of the accused were nabbed on the spot, while the man who fired at the policeman managed to escape, the official said The injured head constable was rushed to a local hospital and later referred to Nagpur, he said.

Seoni Superintendent of Police (SP) Rakesh Kumar Singh said the head constable died after he suffered a heart attack during treatment.

The last rites will be performed at Dobh, his ancestral village in the district, with full state honours, he said.

The accused, Pradyumn Vaishnav (24), Gulshan Das Vaishnav (34) and Janak Singh Khanna (46), have been arrested, while efforts are on to apprehend the fourth man identified as Saddam, he said.

The police have seized a revolver, 20 cartridges and an SUV from the arrested men, the SP said.

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