According to Indian news sources, a team of robbers seized a 60-foot long, 550-ton bridge in northern India for its lucrative scrap value.
According to a police officer, eight males have been arrested, including two government officials.
The iron bridge across the Ara-Sone canal in Bihar, which had been out of service since the early 2000s and was in a state of deterioration, was disassembled over three days starting on April 3.
Bihar |60-feet long-abandoned steel bridge stolen by thieves in Rohtas district
— ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2022
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
To avoid suspicion, the group dressed in government uniforms and worked in broad daylight from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., tearing it apart with cutting torches and excavators.
According to the media site, residents in the village of Amiyavar were unaware of the crime. “No one imagined it was a heist,” said Jitendra Singh, a local journalist.
Pawan Kumar, a guy from a nearby village, made a phone call to the irrigation department on April 5 that alerted the police to the incident. Kumar contacted local officials to inquire about why the bridge removal protocol had not been followed.
After discovering that authorities had not issued an order for the bridge to be destroyed, police initiated an investigation and conducted raids.
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
Government employees and a local lawmaker were among the eight people arrested.
Radhe Shyam Sing, a sub-divisional officer, was arrested, as was Arvind Kumar, who worked part-time for the irrigation department and informed passers-by that the work had official approval.
Shivkalyan Bhardwaj, a block-level leader of the Indian socialist party Rashtriya Janata Dal, was also arrested.
The scrap metal sector employed four of the other individuals arrested. In India, selling scrap metal to illicit companies can be a lucrative business.
