Shimla Boarding School Alumnus Kidnapped 3 Students For Extortion: Cops

A Bishop Cotton School (BCS) alumnus was arrested for allegedly kidnapping three school students from his alma mater for an extortion bid, police said on Monday.

According to police, the accused, Sumit Sood (45), was familiar with the school's environment and planned the kidnapping for financial gains. The boys were rescued from a house in Chaithla village, Kotkhai, on Sunday, a day after they went missing during a day out.

Speaking to the media alongside school authorities on Monday, local Congress MLA and former BCS student Harish Janartha said Sumit introduced himself as an old student and offered the children a lift near the Vigilance office in Khalini, close to the school.

He then drove them towards upper Shimla, instead of heading towards Mall Road. "Sumit was aware that the school caters to children from affluent families and also knew the school's outing schedules," Janartha said.

"It seems the children were not specifically targeted, and the accused, whose financial condition is poor, picked them at random," Janartha said.

Janartha also stated that the kidnapping appeared planned, noting that weapons, ropes, and other items were recovered from the accused's house.

"The accused threatened the children with a gun, and the threatening call to the parents was made from an international number (California)," he added.

A local youth, Raunak from Kotkhai, played a key role in cracking the case. Raunak, who works in Chol, met two constables, Pawan and Hitesh, who showed him CCTV footage of the vehicle used in the crime.

"After seeing the footage, I was 95 per cent sure the vehicle belonged to Sumit Sood. I called him, but he didn't answer. We then visited his house, checked the vehicle, and confirmed it was the same as in the footage," Raunak said.

Sumit was subsequently arrested. Punjab's Education Minister, whose nephew was one of the missing children, was also in Kotkhai with the police.

Raunak was later honoured by the Himachal Pradesh Education Minister Rohit Thakur, the local MLA from the Jubbal-Kotkhai assembly segment.

Raunak had mentioned that it was difficult to believe Sumit was involved in such a crime, given his good behaviour, education, and background, and that he had no known involvement with drugs.

The strength of students at BCS is between 350 and 400, and several concerned calls were received following the incident.

Janartha reassured the public, saying, "There is no cause for concern. Things are under control, and we will ensure such incidents do not occur in the future." School authorities informed that this was the first such incident in the institution's history. They are now in the process of drafting new protocols for student outings, including night outs, term leaves, and holiday departures. A decision has been made to ensure that even senior students will not be allowed to leave the town without adult supervision.

"Himachal Pradesh is considered one of the safest places, but this incident has made us realise the need to review and revise our student management protocols, especially for off-campus activities," they added.

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