Police On Hunt For Thieves Who Stole 500-Tonne Iron Bridge

Indian police are looking for gang members suspected of stealing a 500-tonne iron bridge.

If you were imaging a scene similar to that in UP, with Mr Frederickson and Russell replaced by a band of thieves, and a 60ft bridge carried through the air by countless balloons, then think again; the suspected gang members reportedly took the time to dismantle the abandoned bridge before whisking it away.

According to police, in order to carry out the feat the gang members posed as government officials from the irrigation department.

The bridge was located in the Rohtas district in Bihar, around 150km from India's eastern city of Patna.

The bridge was built nearly 45 years ago, however as a result of being left unused, residents of the Amiyawar village requested it be taken apart by the government's irrigation department.

Upon seeing men come to deconstruct it, residents presumed their request had been granted.

"People came with heavy machinery, gas cutters and worked for two days during the day to dismantle the bridge," 29-year-old Gandhi Chaudhary told Reuters.

The thieves are reported to have spent three days taking apart the bridge, before the scrap metal was transported away via a truck.

This isn't the first time that a bridge has become the target of thieves either.

In 2004, a 36-foot steel bridge in Ukraine was looted by thieves for its scrap metal, according to The Times of India.

In 2011, $100,000 worth of steel was stolen from a bridge located in Pennsylvania in the US.

Thieves similarly posed as demolishers in 2012 in the Czech Republic, stealing parts of a bridge in broad daylight.

A first information report (FIR) was submitted on Thursday, 7 April, according to water resources junior engineer Kamal Shamim. A day later, locals from Amiyawar Village filed a police complaint when they realised the men had not been from the government.

Resident Suresh Kumar told The Hindu: "Even three days ago, the structure of the bridge was there but suddenly it disappeared and we informed local officials."

In an update, police official Subash Kumar said 'some members of the gang' have since been identified, but 'some are yet to be tracked down'.

He said: "They destroyed public property and stole a bridge. An inquiry has been ordered and we are investigating how and when the bridge was stolen."

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