The family of the armyman killed by the Bihar police in an 'encounter' in Paliganj in Patna has demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

The Patna police had allegedly killed Amitesh Sharma on Tuesday claiming he was a criminal and army deserter.

But Amitesh's family is not buying this.

"The Patna police has declared my brother a criminal and army deserter to justify the 'encounter'," Satish Sharma told rediff.com over telephone. He was posted in Sriganganagar in Rajasthan, he added.

"I know my son will not return, but we want a judicial probe and punishment for the guilty," father Awdesh Sharma said.

Paligunj police station in-charge Krishna Deo Sinha claimed that Amitesh and two others were fleeing after stealing a motorcycle when the police tried to stop them.

At this point, they trio opened fire, Sinha claimed.

This led to an encounter in which Amitesh was seriously wounded. He was taken to the Patna Medical College Hospital where he was declared brought dead, he added.

The police claims to have proof that a warrant had been issued against Amitesh for deserting the army.

Awdesh Sharma termed the incident as cold-blooded murder saying his son had gone to withdraw money from a bank because he had to report for duty at Sriganganagar.

He admits that Amitesh had not joined duty on time, which resulted in a warrant being served on him, but this did not justify branding him a deserter.

People in Paliganj had been agitated by the incident and the situation was tense. 

Senior police officials from Patna were camping in the town and have started investigations into the incident.

This incident may create serious trouble for Chief Minister Rabri Devi in view of last month's protests over the killing of three youths in fake encounter by the police.