Singh’s wife Suman told the SSP of Lucknow, Akhil Kumar, that he was a very good swimmer. “He cannot drown and he could not have committed suicide under any circumstances. I suspect that those involved in distributing the money planned his elimination,” she added.

“The depth of water at the point where he fell is nothing for a good swimmer to swim across, even if he is wearing heavy clothes. The water is about six meter deep and the floor of the canal is a smooth solid concrete for about 100 meters. A good swimmer can very well cover the distance under water without being noticed,” described Nathu, part of a group of fishermen working with the police to search the body.

After over six days of searching the 16-km stretch of the Indira canal, the police are still clueless about Singh’s body, officer Akhil Kumar said, “We are putting all possible efforts to trace Uday’s body.”

A constable at Gosainganj, preferring anonymity, said that Uday and Shailendra (alleged to be the middleman between Sunita and police to facilitate the payment to ‘settle’ the case) had good relations and often used to drink together.

Shailendra’s father Hansraj, however, claimed that his son is innocent and has no knowledge about Sunita’s crime. “Being a social person Shailendra had contacts with some policemen. Patrolling cops stopped at our house occasionally for a cup of tea.” He added that it was their ‘cordial’ relations with the police that took a toll on his family.

“Sunita approached us along with her brother Pappu seeking help last month. She claimed that the police was harassing her and threatening to send her to jail in connection with the missing report of her husband. She asked Shailendra to help her settle the matter with the police and was even ready to pay some money. My son’s only mistake was that he helped her by taking her to some policeman, unknown to the fact that Sunita planned Santosh’s killing. He has had no criminal record in the past,” claimed Hansraj.

Shailendra, arrested on Tuesday, was booked under Section 201 (disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen the offender) under the IPC.