Patna, Sept. 28: The Army today rejected the police version that a jawan killed his colleague and then committed suicide on Sunday.

'We are not ready to buy the Patna police version that Santosh Kumar Singh murdered his colleague and friend Rinkesh Kumar Singh before committing suicide,' a senior Bihar Regimental Centre (BRC) personnel said on condition of anonymity, as he was not allowed to talk to journalists.

'The alleged murder and suicide of two Army personnel is not an open-and-shut case,' the official said. 'The police are claiming Santosh pumped two bullets into Rinkesh and later committed suicide by thrusting the rifle barrel into his mouth. But it is very difficult for a person to trigger a rifle after thrusting its barrel into one's mouth in standing position, as one's hand cannot easily reach the trigger in that position.'

He added: 'Also, if Santosh had committed suicide, the rifle would not have been near his body; the recoil would have thrust his body 6-7 metres away. But in this case, the rifle was lying near Santosh's body.'

The army personnel also refused to buy the police argument that few people living in the house heard the shots. 'It is impossible to believe only a few people heard the shot being fired. After all, it is not some small cracker bursting.'

The personnel also refuted the theory that Santosh might have killed Rinkesh for just refusing to marry his cousin. 'In our training, we learn how to beat psychological stress. It is very difficult to accept that Santosh, who served over a deca-de in the Army, would have killed his friend for just refusing to marry his cousin.'

But Patna superintendent of police (SP) West Ravindra Kumar said the police investigation was moving in the right direction. 'We are of the opinion that Santosh killed Rinkesh and later committed suicide.'

The jawan allegedly shot his colleague and committed suicide in a house near Danapur cantonment following, what police sources said was, an altercation over failure to honour a marriage commitment.

Santosh, 30, was posted in Arunachal Pradesh and had come to Danapur on leave, and Rinkesh, 22, posted in the Bihar Regimental Centreat Danapur, was a clerk in the records section.

Santosh was not just Rinkesh's friend but also his guide. Two years back when Rinkesh joined the Army and was undergoing training at the Bihar Regimental Centre in Danapur, it was Santosh who provided him training.

The Telegraph also contacted Rinkesh's sister Pinky, who said: 'I' have lost my brother. I want justice from the police and the Army.'