The Bihar police investigation into the killing of a soldier in an encounter has termed it as 'fake'.

The police had killed 23-year-old Amitesh Sharma, who they alleged was a criminal and an army deserter, in the Paliganj Baazar area in Patna district on Tuesday.

He is survived by his wife and two-year-old son and cremated on Wednesday in Patna with military honours.

Police officials said that when the policemen challenged Amitesh and his two accomplices for possessing a stolen motorcycle, the trio fled in different directions. Amitesh was killed and the other two managed to escape.

But Satish Sharma refuted the charge, saying his brother was posted in an army regiment in Rajasthan and did not commit crimes. "Amitesh came to Patna following the death of our mother in November and stayed on because of ill health," he said.

The sources also said the policemen shot Amitesh at close range and in order to make it look like a genuine encounter, they placed a country made pistol at the place where soldier had been killed.

Based on the report officer in charge of Peliganj police station Vivekanand Singh and a constable Sandeep Kumar have been placed under suspension. While three other constables of Paliganj police station have been shifted

Amitesh Sharma's killing comes a month after the police shot down three students in Patna. The killings, allegedly in another staged encounter, had sparked violent protests in the state.