Lucknow, Sep 1 (IANS) Armed miscreants in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district Wednesday opened fire at a prisoner inside a train coach while a police team was taking him to a court. One of the miscreants was killed in retaliatory firing by the police, officials said.

Naresh Kumar was fired at by four armed attackers inside the Shalimar Express near the Deoband railway station, some 400 km from Lucknow.

'The miscreants fired at Naresh following which he suffered bullet injuries and was rushed to a hospital. His condition is critical,' police inspector Rajesh Singh told reporters in Saharanpur.

The attack took place when Naresh, who has been booked under section 411 (Dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), was being taken for hearing from Bareilly jail to a local court in Muzaffarnagar district.

'While we managed to gun down one of the miscreants, his three accomplices managed to escape,' said Singh.

'Enquiry is on to gather details about the miscreants and their motive behind the crime,' he added.