A man in a remote town of Khyber Pakthunkhwa reportedly killed five members of his family -- two wives, a son, a daughter and a daughter-in-law -- over a petty dispute, Gulf News has reported.

Police later gunned down the accused in an encounter which also left two policemen injured in Batagram town of Khyber Pakhutkhwa. According to the police, the man identified as Jehanzeb Surkheli had shot dead five people of his family late on Thursday night. He also took hostage four other family members but they were rescued unhurt after the police encounter.

Initial reports says that the accused was mentally ill and opened fire at his family members after an argument. However, Station House Officer Nisar Ahmed said that more details would be revealed after the investigations.

Digs graves

After killing the family members, the accused reportedly started digging graves in the compound of his house in a bid to bury the dead and warned the residents not to enter the house, according to media reports. Later, when the police arrived at the crime scene, the accused took four hostages and opened fire at the policemen as well when he was asked to surrender. Police also returned the fire killing Surkheli on the spot. Two policemen also got injured during the exchange of fire.

Hostages

The four people taken hostage by the accused were rescued. They were identified a son, two daughters and a grandson of the alleged killer. Police said they were waiting for medical report to confirm mental condition of the killer.