A sub-divisional officer of the Bihar Water Resources Department and seven others were arrested by the police on Sunday in connection to the theft case of a 60-foot-long abandoned bridge in Rohtas district, ANI reported.

A gang posing as state irrigation department officials stole the 500-tonne iron bridge in broad daylight in Amiyawar village of the district on Saturday. The men dismantled the defunct bridge using gas-cutters and earthmovers over a period of three days, PTI reported.

The police have recovered one JCB bulldozer, iron channels weighing about 247 kilograms and other material from the eight accused, Rohtas Superintendent of Police Ashish Bharti told ANI. The police said the accused persons might have sold off parts of the bridge as scrap metal.

The day that the dismantling of the bridge started, the sub-divisional officer had allegedly called in sick to avoid raising concerns about his involvement in the theft, NDTV reported.

The villagers had assumed the government wanted to dismantle the bridge since it was defunct and built over a water canal.