Thieves posing as government employees seized a 60-foot-long, 500-tonne iron bridge from a village in Bihar’s Rohtas district. On April 8, the Water Resources Department filed an FIR against unidentified individuals. The lost bridge spanning the Ara-Sone canal was discovered on April 5 by local locals, who said it was built roughly 45 years ago.
“The framework of the bridge was there even three days ago, but it suddenly vanished, and we contacted local officials,” said Suresh Kumar of Amiyawar village in Rohtas district. The settlement is 40 kilometers from Sasaram’s district headquarters, which is known for the tomb of Suri Empire founder Sher Shah Suri.
Local officials from the Water Resources Department went to the scene of the theft and filed an FIR at the Nasriganj police station against unknown people. Subhash Kumar, the in charge of the Nasriganj police station, said, “An inquiry has been ordered, and we are probing how and when the bridge was stolen.”
According to the villagers, the thieves chipped away at pieces of the iron bridge over several days while posing as State Irrigation Department officials demolishing the bridge, which had become old and decrepit. An adjacent stream was crossed by a parallel new concrete bridge.
Iron Bridge might be stolen scrap iron smugglers
According to a local journalist, Ajit Kumar, the bridge heist was likely carried out by scrap iron smugglers, and because they utilized heavy mechanical tools like earthmovers and gas cutters, the villagers may not have suspected their credentials.
He stated that the burglars spent three days taking the iron bridge from its building location. “It was only later that the locals realized what had happened and contacted the local department authorities, who were also startled,” he continued.
Previously, in August 2021, seized illicit sand worth Rs 200 crores were stolen from several police stations in the district where it was deposited, prompting the State Mines Department to file three FIRs, but nothing came of it. Similarly, collected stone chips were stolen from a police station in the district, but the culprits are still at large, according to reports.