Bihar: Engineer among 8 held in Rohtas bridge theft case

SASARAM: Eight persons, including an assistant engineer (AE) of water resources department of Nasariganj, were arrested on Sunday in connection with the infamous theft of a 60-foot-long iron bridge in Rohtas district earlier this week.
The police also recovered 245 quintals of the 500 tonne scrap stolen by dismantling the defunct bridge near Amiyawar village under Nasariganj police station area in the district.The JCB, gas cutter cylinders and the pick-up van used in the crime were also seized, Rohtas SP Ashish Bharti said. He said an SIT formed under DSP Bikaramganj cracked the case with the arrest of 8 persons, including the AE (Sone canal division), Radhe Shyam Singh. The AE is also known as sub-divisional officer (SDO) in common parlance in Bihar.
One of the arrested persons, identified as Shiv Kalayan Bhardawaj of Amiyawar village, was given Rs 10,000 for his cooperation in the operation.
The police claimed to have recovered Rs 3,100 from his possession, he said.
The SP said the accused went to the bridge in the guise of irrigation department officials and dismantled it before taking away the iron scrap in the vehicle.
Raids were being conducted to arrest the remaining accused and recover the stolen steel, he added.
He said an employee of the irrigation department was present on the spot at the time of theft. So, the villagers presumed that the bridge, constructed on Ara Sone canal in 1976, was being dismantled officially.
The 45-year-old bridge was declared abandoned five years ago by the irrigation department after construction of a parallel concrete bridge. The thieves, in connivance with the SDO, used JCB, two gas cutters and cylinders to dismantle the bridge, the SP said.