Posted on 04/16/2022 4:40:03 PM PDT by algore
A gang of thieves stole a 60-foot long, 550-ton bridge in northeastern India for its lucrative scrap value, according to the Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI).
Police have arrested eight men, including two government employees, a police official said, per ANI.
"We have arrested eight persons, including an SDO (subdivisional officer) of the water resources department, in connection with the theft of the bridge," said Rohtas's police superintendent Ashish Bharti, per ANI.
"The thieves stole the bridge in connivance with the SDO. We have recovered one JCB, stolen iron channels weighing about 247 kg, and other material," Bharti continued.
—Nistula Hebbar (@nistula) April 9, 2022
The iron bridge across the Ara-Sone canal in Bihar, which was in a state of disrepair after being out of use since the early 2000s, was dismantled over three days from April 3, BBC News reported.
The gang wore government uniforms to avoid suspicion while working in broad daylight from 7 am daily, using cutting torches and excavators to tear it apart, BBC News said.
People in the village of Amiyavar were oblivious to the theft, the media outlet reported. "No one suspected it was a heist," local journalist Jitendra Singh told the BBC.
In fact, the media outlet reported that some villagers were happy that the disused bridge was finally being removed.
A phone call to the irrigation department on April 5 by Pawan Kumar, a man from a nearby villager, was what alerted the police to the crime. Kumar reached out to local officials to ask why procedures were not being followed concerning the removal of the bridge, BBC News reported.
The thieves may have done the government a favor. The bridge wasn’t in use, and the labor to dismantle it has already been provided.
In Russia they steal the manhole covers ,LOL
Coming soon to Blue American Cesspool cities.
AND...”some villagers were happy that the disused bridge was finally being removed.”
Seems like a win-win all the way around, doesn’t it?
Heh, heh...yeah! “Kumar reached out to local officials to ask why procedures were not being followed concerning the removal of the bridge”
How did Kumar know procedures were not being followed?
Kumar know too much.
Now THAT’s motivation!
Sounds like someone didn’t pay all the required bribes.🤔
Wish someone would steal califonicate.
This would make a good idea if someone went in and started removing the White House. These days stranger things happen
Go big or go home...
There is so much you can get away with if you have a hardhat, a clipboard, and a safety vest. No one asks any questions.
“Okay Ramesh, it says to take a sharp right at the bridge up ahead”.
People have stolen part of at least one street in America, while back. Cobblestone I think?
Someone has, the primary suspect is Chinese, but he is claiming he bought it, fair and square, and was rooked because it has been allowed to fall into a criminal state of disrepair.
I have always heard that the most outrageous thefts are done in the open, because no one believes thieves are that bold. Oh, how the times have changed, I guess.
Reminds me of the Chechen thieves who ripped up 15 miles of railroad rails and sold for scrap back in the early 90’s.
Time flies... it was 1985 https://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/12/nyregion/thieves-roam-and-steal-the-city-s-streets.html
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