A 550-ton bridge in India stolen by a gang of thieves in broad daylight
A gang of thieves stole a 60-foot long, 550-ton bridge in northeastern India for its lucrative scrap value, according to the Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI).
Police have arrested eight men, including two government employees, a police official said, per ANI.
“We have arrested eight persons, including an SDO (subdivisional officer) of the water resources department, in connection with the theft of the bridge,” said Rohtas’s police superintendent Ashish Bharti, per ANI.
“The thieves stole the bridge in connivance with the SDO. We have recovered one JCB, stolen iron channels weighing about 247 kg, and other material,” Bharti continued.
The iron bridge across the Ara-Sone canal in Bihar, which was in a state of disrepair after being out of use since the early 2000s, was dismantled over three days from April 3, BBC News reported.
The gang wore government uniforms to avoid suspicion while working in broad daylight from 7 am daily, using cutting torches and excavators to tear it apart, BBC News said.
People in the village of Amiyavar were oblivious to the theft, the media outlet reported. “No one suspected it was a heist,” local journalist Jitendra Singh told the BBC.
In fact, the media outlet reported that some villagers were happy that the disused bridge was finally being removed.
Bihar |60-feet long-abandoned steel bridge stolen by thieves in Rohtas district
Villagers informed some people pretending as mechanical dept officials uprooted bridge using machines like JCB & gas-cutters. We’ve filed the FIR:Arshad Kamal Shamshi, Junior Engineer,Irrigation dept pic.twitter.com/o4ZWVDkWie
— ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2022
The remnants of the 500 tonne bridge that was stolen in Rohtas, Bihar. Pic via @AmarnathTewary pic.twitter.com/AaB3Ohc41x
— Nistula Hebbar (@nistula) April 9, 2022