Notorious gangster Suresh Dhanaji Manchekar was killed in a police encounter in Thane on Friday morning.

Acting on a tip-off, a Thane Police team laid a trap near Hotel Ujjwaldeep for the gangster, police sources said.

He was spotted in a private van near the central bus stand at the underground Parikh bridge at around 2.15 am when police asked him to surrender.

He fired at the police prompting them to return fire in self-defence. When Manchekar came out of his vehicle, he was wounded in the firing.

The gangster was taken to Chhatrapati Pramila Raje government hospital where the doctors declared him dead on arrival, the police said.

The driver of the vehicle, however, managed to flee from the spot, the police added.

Manchekar was involved in several cases of murder and extortion. He had formed his own gang in the 90s and was active in Thane region.

He had targeted businessmen and doctors for extortion and was also allegedly involved in the murder of trade union leader Datta Samant in Mumbai.

Only a week ago, a sessions court in Mumbai had sentenced Manchekar's mother and two members of his gang to life imprisonment on the charge of murdering a builder. Manchekar himself was shown as absconding in this case.

The gangster had created a reign of terror in Thane region and had gone underground for the last few years, the police added.