Varanasi, June 25 -- A Rottweiler abandoned by Shankar Pandey, an accused in the murder case of hotel owner Vineet Rai and carrying a reward of Rs.1 lakh on his arrest, was rescued from Pandey's Gausabad house in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur district, police said on Wednesday.

The Rottweiler, known as Michael, was locked inside Pandey's 2,000-square-foot house for 26 days after Pandey and his kin fled on the night of May 29, following the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Rai by three bike-borne assailants in the Phullanpur-Fattehpur Sikandar area.

Police officers said they received information about a dog being locked inside the house from locals who used to offer him food.

"The dog used to walk inside the house and whenever he barked or seem...