A police constable collapsed and died while chasing a suspected thief in Telangana on Saturday, police said.

The incident occurred at Gadwal in Jogulamba district, about 200 km from here.

Raghunandan, 35, tried to chase a suspected thief after the later jumped from police vehicle and escaped.

During vehicle checking by the police, the constable spotted four suspected persons and asked them to sit in the police vehicle.

As the suspects were being taken to police station, one of them jumped from running vehicle and escaped.

The constable too jumped out and tried to chase him in darkness.

He, however, lost his balance and fell down, sustaining serious injuries.

The policeman was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.