Imagine waking up to find a 60-foot bridge gone— that’s the surreal reality in Korba, Chhattisgarh, where thieves stole a 30-ton iron span near Russian Hostel canal on January 17, 2026. For 40 years, this bridge facilitated smooth local travel; now, it’s a pile of missing metal.
The heist demanded precision: intruders hauled in gas cutters, oxygen, and LPG setups, laboring under cover of night to dismantle railings and framework. Dawn revealed the void, igniting widespread alarm.
Prompt response from SP Siddharth Tiwari’s team, aided by cyber forensics and informants, led to 15 identifications and arrests of five: young Lochan Kewat (20), Jaysingh Rajput (23), Moti Prajapati (27), Sumit Sahu (19), and Picture, aka Keshavpuri Goswami (22).
From their directions, police seized 5 tons of cut iron, a handy Tata Ace, Splendor two-wheeler, cutting gear, fuel cylinders, phones, and Rs 6,000. FIR registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Civil Lines Rampur outpost.
Pursuit of the 10 absconders is relentless. Beyond the crime’s scale, it spotlights a scourge of organized scrap thefts eroding public assets, spurring advocacy for tech-driven monitoring and swift infrastructure repairs to reconnect divided communities.