A Bishop Cotton School (BCS) alumnus has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping three students from the school in an attempt to extort money, the police said on Monday.
The accused, 45-year-old Sumit Sood, knew the school well and planned the kidnapping for financial gains. The boys were rescued on Sunday from a house in Chaithla village, Kotkhai, a day after they went missing during a day out.
Local Congress MLA and former BCS student Harish Janartha, speaking to mendiapersons alongside school authorities, said Sumit posed as an old student and offered the children a lift near the Vigilance office in Khalini, close to the school. Instead of heading towards Mall Road, he drove them towards upper Shimla.
"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 randomly,” Janartha said.
Janartha also stated that the kidnapping seemed to be well-planned as weapons, ropes, and other items were recovered from the house of the accused.
"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 major role in cracking the case. Raunak, who works in Chol, met two constables, Pawan and Hitesh, who showed him CCTV footage of the suspect’s vehicle allegedly 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 arrested soon after. Punjab’s Education Minister, whose nephew was among the kidnapped boys, was also in Kotkhai during the police operation.
Raunak was later honoured by Himachal Pradesh Education Minister Rohit Thakur, the local MLA from the Jubbal-Kotkhai segment. Raunak said it was hard to believe Sumit could do something like this, given his education, good behaviour, background, and that he had no involved with drugs.
Bishop Cotton School has about 350-400 students, and the incident triggered many concerned calls from parents.
Janartha assured the public that there was no need to worry and that steps were being taken to prevent such incidents in the future.
The school authorities said, “This was the first such case in the school’s history. They are now preparing new rules for student outings, including night outs, term breaks, and holiday departures. The new policy will ensure even senior students do not leave 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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