Korba, Jan 24: A 70-foot-long steel bridge weighing over 10 tonnes built on a canal more than four decades ago was stolen overnight in Chhattisgarh’s Korba city, leaving local residents stunned, police said on Saturday.
Investigators found the involvement of 15 persons in the incident, who allegedly cut and stole the structure to sell it as scrap. Five of the accused have been arrested so far, officials said.
On January 18, residents noticed that the steel bridge built over the Hasdeo Left Canal and used as a pedestrian pathway in Ward No. 17 of the Dhodhipara area had gone missing, following which local corporator Laxman Shrivas lodged a complaint, Korba Additional Superintendent of Police Lakhan Patle said.
Preliminary investigation suggested that unidentified accused used gas cutters to cut the iron railings of the structure, he said.
Based on the written complaint received at the CSEB police chowki, a special police team was constituted to probe the matter, he added.
Following technical analysis, inputs given by informers and sustained investigation, police identified 15 accused in the case. 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, Patle said.
Efforts are underway to trace the remaining 10 accused, including the alleged kingpins Mukesh Sahu and Aslam Khan, who are currently absconding, he added.
During their interrogation, the arrested accused confessed to committing the theft to sell the iron as scrap, he said, adding that further investigation is underway.
CSEB police chowki in-charge Bhimsen Yadav said around seven tonnes of steel, which had been hidden inside the canal, has been seized.
The vehicle used to transport the stolen steel has also been seized, he said, adding that the police were probing where the remaining material was sold.
Talking to PTI over phone, corporator Shrivas said the bridge, around 70 feet long and five feet wide, was built nearly 40 years ago and weighed more than 10 tonnes.
Since the theft, local residents have been using a nearby concrete bridge to cross the canal, he added. (PTI)
