New Delhi: A gang of thieves managed to steal a 60-feet defunct iron bridge in Rohtas district of Bihar in broad daylight, reported news agency IANS. The robbery was executed in three days with the help of unwitting local officials and villagers, an official told IANS.
The thieves posed as officers of the State Irrigation Department and used gas cutters and earthmover machines to demolish the bridge and drake away the scrap metal in three days.
What makes the case interesting is that the robbers actually took the help of the local Irrigation Department officials and villagers during the removal of the iron bridge. By the time the officials understood about the theft, the robber had already fled away with the “heavy” loot.
As per the IANS report, the bridge was constructed over the Arrah canal in 1972 at Amiyawar village which comes under the Nasriganj police station. It had become too old now and was declared dangerous. That is why the local villagers were not using it and were rather using an adjoining concrete bridge.
After the complaint regarding the theft was filed, the police are investigating the case having alerted the local scrap dealers.
"We have received a complaint from the officials of the Irrigation Department. Accordingly, we have registered an FIR against unknown persons. The process of making sketches of the accused is underway to identify them. We have also alerted scrap dealers to pass the information about any such materials to their knowledge. The bridge was 60 feet long and 12 feet high," Nasriganj SHO Subhash Kumar told IANS.