An Indian Army soldier shot dead four people who were reportedly his relatives in Punjab on Tuesday and was shot dead by the police after he refused to surrender.

The armyman, who has been identified as Jagdeep Singh, killed four people, including a minor, in Punjab's Sangrur area, over an alleged property dispute. 

The army man then stood on the roof of his house and opened fire on the police who had come to arrest him. The police fired back and killed him, IANS reported. 

Singh had been posted in Jammu and Kashmir and was on a leave. 

Punjab is already seething after days of unrest after members of the Sikh community came out on the streets to protest the alleged desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib, their holy book. 

The protesters burnt vehicles and clashed with the police, leaving scores injured. 

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal called an emergency meeting of cabinet ministers on Tuesday, while paramilitary forces were deployed in several parts of the state.