LUCKNOW: A petty dispute over a pet dog claimed lives of four people, including a woman, and left four injured in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district on Wednesday. Later, four policemen deployed in the area were suspended on charges of dereliction of duty.

According to the office of the director general of police, the incident occurred in Dudwa area where pet dog of a local, Dharam Singh, excreted outside neighbour Yogendra's house. It led to heated arguments between the two families. The verbal duel snowballed into a pitched battle with the two sides attacking each other with knives and firing from fire arms.

Yogendra, Dharam's wife Nirmala and his relatives Pravesh and Bijendra were killed. The injured were rushed to hospital.

Senior police officials in Baghpat told reporters that an FIR was registered in this connection and a manhunt has been launched to nab the accused. Four policemen deployed in the area have also been put under suspension and an inquiry has been ordered. They said that initial reports suggest that the two families had an old rivalry and the dispute over dog triggered a clash.