60-ft-Long Iron Bridge Stolen in Chhattisgarh Town Overnight, 5 Held
According to the police, 15 people involved in the theft were identified and five of them were arrested.
Raipur: The scrap mafia dismantled a 60-ft-long and five-ft-wide iron bridge, weighing around 30 tonnes, by cutting it into pieces with gas cutters in a Chhattisgarh town overnight and carting them away. The bridge, constructed with heavy iron girders and thick metal plates, was built over Hasdeo left bank canal in Dodhipara area in district headquarters of Korba.
“The bridge was last used by the locals till 11 pm on January 17 and did not exist in the morning. It was dismantled and stolen overnight. There are signs of cutting with gas cutters in the stumps of the bridge”, Laxman Srivas, Ward 17 councillor said on Friday. He filed a complaint in the local police station in this regard.
The bridge was built around four decades ago and served as a vital link from the locals, he added. A portion of the bridge was found in the creek below, according to the police.
Korba district superintendent of police Siddharth Tiwari constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the incident. A case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of BNS, Korba city superintendent of police Pratik Chaturvedi told the media.
According to the police, 15 people involved in the theft were identified and five of them were arrested: Lochan Kewat, Jaisingh Rajput, Moti Prajapati, Sumit Sahu and Keshavpuri Goswami, according to the police.