A 70-foot-long steel bridge weighing over 10 tonnes, built more than four decades ago over a canal in Chhattisgarh’s Korba city, was stolen overnight, leaving local residents shocked, police said on Saturday.
Investigations revealed the involvement of 15 people who allegedly cut the bridge into pieces and stole it to sell as scrap.
Five of the accused have been arrested so far, officials said.
According to a media report, the theft came to light on January 18 when residents noticed that the steel bridge—used as a pedestrian pathway over the Hasdeo Left Canal in Ward No. 17 of the Dhodhipara area—had vanished.
Following this, local corporator Laxman Shrivas lodged a complaint.
Korba Additional Superintendent of Police Lakhan Patle said preliminary investigations suggested that unidentified accused used gas cutters to slice through the iron railings and dismantle the structure.
Based on the written complaint received at the CSEB police chowki, a special police team was formed to investigate the case, he added.
Using technical analysis, informer inputs, and sustained investigation, police identified 15 accused.
Five of them—Lochan Kevat (20), Jaysingh Rajput (23), Moti Prajapati (27), Sumit Sahu (19), and Keshavpuri Goswami alias “Picture” (22), all residents of the CSEB police chowki area—were arrested.
Efforts are underway to trace the remaining 10 accused, including alleged kingpins Mukesh Sahu and Aslam Khan, who are currently absconding, Patle said.
During interrogation, the arrested accused confessed to stealing the bridge to sell the iron as scrap. Further investigation is ongoing.
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