Guwahati,  A man has died in Assam's Sivasagar district while he was trying to evade arrest, officials said on Wednesday.

The incident happened on Tuesday in the Gouribazar area of the district. The deceased has been identified as Babu Gowala.

According to police, he was accused of stealing motorcycles, and while he was being questioned by the police, Gowala jumped into a pond and sustained severe injuries.

He was immediately rescued by the police from the pond and rushed to the nearby hospital. The doctors, however, declared him dead. The body was later sent for an autopsy.

Police said in a CCTV footage it was seen that Babu was stealing a bike that was parked near a shop in the Gouribazar market area.

Meanwhile, the deceased's wife said: "The police came to our house at night and started banging at our door and asked for my husband. We mistook them as child lifters and hence took our children with us and tried to hide at the backyard of our house. Later, the police personnel said that they have come to enquire about a stolen bike."

She further said that her husband went with the police team but did not return.

She alleged that police did not let Gowala's family know about his death and they could know about the incident only on Wednesday morning.

Following Gowala's death, the local residents gathered around the police station and demanded a probe into the entire incident. They suspect that police the have killed him.

Superintendent of Police, Sivasagar district, Subhrajyoti Borah told IANS: "The police first went to Gowala's house around 8 p.m. on Tuesday after the CCTV footage clearly showed that he stole the bike from Gouribazar market area. But he fled the house before the police could reach there. Later, from another location, police arrested him and took Gowala to his home for investigation."

"On police interrogation, Gowala confessed to his crime and agreed that he would show the location of the stolen bike. But, while going there he somehow escaped and unfortunately fell into a pond which is nearby to the Gouribazar police station," Borah added.

The police officer further said that an inquiry into the incident was launched and the Officer-In-Charge of the police station was suspended.