Bareilly, Feb 7 (IANS): A rape witness reportedly 'drowned' in one and a half feet of water in Tigra village in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district.

The witness, a 42-year-old farmer, was to appear in court on Friday to record his statement in the rape case of his niece.

His body was found in an irrigation canals on Thursday and the autopsy report said that the man died due to "drowning".

The family of the deceased has alleged that he was killed by the accused named in the rape case, which took place in 2018.

The farmer's son said that his father had gone to the fields to sprinkle water on the crops on Wednesday evening. When he did not return, they started looking for him and on Thursday, his body was found in the shallow canal adjacent to his field.

There were no injury marks on the body.

The family claims that the farmer was murdered and has leveled allegations against two suspects.

The farmer's elder son also questioned the post mortem report and asked, "How can anyone drown in one and a half feet water? We want the police to file an FIR against two persons who are also accused in the rape case."

Station House Officer (SHO) Hafizganj, Mahendra Singh Yadav, said, "It appears that the farmer was in an inebriated state and could have accidentally slipped into the canal. The autopsy report says that he died due to drowning. We are not aware that he was a witness in a rape case and we are yet to receive any written complaint from the aggrieved family."

No arrests have been made so far.