Indian police announced on Saturday that members of a gang specialized in the theft of scrap metal succeeded in dismantling a 500-ton iron bridge and escaping with it in eastern India, in an unusual operation during which the residents were delusional that they were officials in the irrigation sector.

Police officer Subhash Kumar told AFP that the thieves claimed to be government irrigation officials.

Kumar explained that they brought in bulldozers and wire shears and tore up the structure before escaping with their booty in a two-day operation.

He pointed out that the thieves "taken the scrap in a heavy vehicle."

The half-century-old structure over a canal has been cut down by thieves since another nearby bridge opened to the public five years ago.

The police opened an investigation into the strange incident Thursday, but no one has been arrested in the case so far.