A dreaded gangster, wanted in at least 30 criminal cases, was shot dead near a temple in Jharkhand`s Dumka district in the early hours of Friday by men who were dressed as `kanwariyas`, police said.

Amarnath Singh, a resident of Jamshedpur, went to Basukinath temple in Dumka along with his family to offer obeisance in the holy month of `Shravan` when the gunmen shot him from point blank range, they said.