60-Foot-Long Iron Bridge Stolen In Broad Daylight; 8 Including Govt Officials Arrested

A group of thieves in India pulled an extraordinary heist by stealing a 60-foot-long iron bridge in broad daylight after posing as officials from the irrigation department. The gang who uprooted the 550-ton steel bridge using a JCB machine and gas-cutters were arrested Sunday, police said.

The bizarre case of theft was reported from Rohtas, a city in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, last week. The gang arrived with pickup vans, gas cutters and vehicles and took three days to cut off the abandoned bridge. They also sought help from the locals to carry out their heist after convincing them that they were government officials, police said, as reported by NDTV.

Meanwhile, the police announced the arrest of eight suspects, including an official from the water resources department, and recovered the stolen materials.

"We have arrested eight people including an SDO (Sub Divisional Officer)of the water resources department in connection with the theft of the bridge. The thieves stole the bridge in connivance with the SDO. We have recovered one JCB, stolen iron channels weighing about 247 kgs (around 540 pounds), and other material," Ashish Bharti, a senior investigating officer said.

The 12-foot-high bridge was constructed over the Arrah canal at Amiyawar village in 1972, and the residents of the locality had earlier applied for dismantling the unused bridge. So, when the thieves arrived with pieces of equipment to remove the bridge, the locals believed that it was a government procedure based on their request.

However, the investigation began after some residents who got suspicious reported it to the police. "The incident came to light after villagers informed us that some unidentified people impersonating state government officials dismantled the bridge and stole the scrap material. The thieves told locals that they were uprooting the bridge as per the department's order," an official from the irrigation department said, as reported by Times Now News.

After videos and photos of the incident went viral on social media, many users came up with funny responses. "Super impressed! They should be allowed to mention this on their resume," a user commented. "Robbery is also advancing with Technology!!!" another wrote.