Latest news with #SumitSood
Hindustan Times
16 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Bishop Cotton School alumnus held for kidnapping 3 students: Police
Reeling under financial losses, Sumit Sood (45), a former student of Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, who is also an engineering graduate, turned a kidnapper of the three Class 6 students, all 11, of Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. They were picked up by the accused from near the school. However, they were rescued by police on Sunday. The accused (red T-shirt) in police custody in Shimla on Monday. (HT Photo) Police had arrested Sumit Sood of Chaithala in Kotkhai, who had studied up to Class 8 at BCS, Shimla, before pursuing engineering from MIT, Meerut. Sumit is a third generation student of BCS, Shimla, as his grandfather and father were also 'Cottonians' – a term popularly used to address students of BCS, Shimla. 'An engineering graduate, Sood had suffered losses in businesses. He even lost money in shares. To tide over the financial difficulties, he had planned the kidnapping and single handedly executed the same at gunpoint,' said superintendent of police Sanjeev Gandhi on Monday. The weapon, revolver used by the accused, was registered in his father's name. Police have also recovered a revolver and a knife from the accused. The police have seized the car used in crime along with the tampered number plate. 'He lured the boys by introducing himself as an 'old boy' – a term used to refer to former students, and promised to drop them at Auckland Tunnel. But after crossing Dhalli, he brandished a revolver and took them to his home in Kokonala,' Gandhi said. Sumit's house in Chaithala village, which is far from the village and in a deserted area. He dropped his family to Shimla for vacation before executing the crime. Gandhi said, 'Sood had been planning the crime for 8 to 10 days, using his familiarity with school protocols to his advantage and picked up the children randomly'. Identification of car first breakthrough Police had got their first breakthrough when on the basis of the CCTV they were able to zero in on the i10 car bearing Delhi registration number that later turned out to be fake. The last location of the kids was New Shimla around 12.10 pm on Saturday after which the accused drove towards the upper Shimla area. 'We were racing against time as the lives of the children were at stake,' said Gandhi, who admitted that pursuing multiple conflicting reports of sighting the children from Mall Road to a bus stand, McDonald's, and a book house or even a woman taking the children along. 'We started from zero, reviewed CCTV footage from the school's control room, and saw the boys leaving the gate at 12.12 pm with a man, but not reaching their supposed destination. We then began vehicle tracing and identified two Delhi-numbered cars. Through coordinated efforts by station in-charges from New Shimla, Sadar, Kotkhai, and Kumarsein, we narrowed it down,' Gandhi said. 'The suspect's car was seen heading towards Narkanda, then returning to Chaila, and later towards Kotkhai and Kudu. Eventually, we located the vehicle and rescued all three children safely,' Gandhi added. As per police, Sood had used a California-based VPN number to make threatening internet calls. He had called the child's mother on mobile in Karnal, Haryana. After this, the accused called the other child's father in Kullu and asked him to be ready for the next call. He also called the third child's father's number in Mohali, but his father missed the call. 'He told parents the children were with a dangerous gang, but there was no explicit ransom demand at that stage,' Gandhi said. 'We will be adding new sections also to the FIR,' said Gandhi as police had recovered arms, 10-12 mobiles along with laptop from the accused while rescuing the children. School considering to make changes in SoPs The BCS management is now considering changing the standard operating procedures for outing. BCS Shimla in its 170 years history has for the first time witnessed such an incident and is now considering change in the safety protocols. Founded in 1859 by Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton, BCS is among Asia's oldest boarding schools and has produced numerous distinguished alumni, including author Ruskin Bond, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, and industrialist Ratan Tata. Even in the present Himachal Pradesh government alone, there are at least six MLAs, ministers who have studied at BCS. Addressing a press briefing with school principal Mathew P John confirmed that the school has already begun drafting a new security protocol covering all outings, including night-outs and holidays. 'We have decided that senior students will not be allowed to go out without adult supervision. Himachal Pradesh is one of the safest states in the country, but this incident has made us realise we must completely review and revise our protocols. We will be getting help from the police to finalise this,' Mathew said, adding that the school would seek police assistance in drafting the new protocols. Shimla MLA and BCS alumnus Harish Janartha, who also addressed the media, said, 'Children up to Class 5 are accompanied by teachers, while senior classes (6 to 12) go out in groups so they can watch out for one another.' Janartha said, 'Taking lift is punishable in the school though children are allowed to hire a taxi. But as the accused had introduced himself as an old boy and offered lift so the children sat in the vehicle. Man who helped police trace the car felicitated Education minister Rohit Thakur on Monday felicitated Kotkhai resident Raunak Sharma, who helped police trace the car of the accused leading to subsequent arrest and safe recovery of the children on Sunday. Raunak, who works as a transporter in Kotkhai, knew the accused for about one and a half years. 'Since Sunday morning, we had been seeing and hearing news of the children's disappearance in the media. When the police during inquiry about the car showed him a photo of a suspicious vehicle with Delhi number, I immediately recognised it as Sumit's vehicle'. Though Raunak had not seen the children, he helped the police in identifying the vehicle and escorting police to Sumit's house where the car was parked. It was during the search of the house that police recovered the children. Kidnapping raises questions on law and order: Jai Ram Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur on Monday lashed out at Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led state government for 'deteriorating' law and order in the state. 'Three children are kidnapped from a renowned school in the middle of the city and the kidnapper manages to take them about 50 km away through every major intersection of the city. This is a very serious question on the policing of the capital. The law and order situation in the state is very bad and the anarchic elements are openly committing crimes,' said Thakur.
India Today
20 hours ago
- India Today
Ex-student kidnapped Shimla school children, held them hostage at home, arrested
In a swift and coordinated operation, Himachal Pradesh Police rescued three Class 6 students from a prestigious Shimla boarding school less than 24 hours after they were reported missing, arresting a former student in connection with their accused, 45-year-old Sumit Sood, was taken into custody from Chaithla village in Kotkhai on Sunday. According to police, Sood had lost over Rs 3–4 crore in stock market trading and allegedly planned the kidnapping to extort boys — Angad from Karnal, Hitendra from Mohali, and Vidansh from Kullu — were last seen leaving their school on Saturday afternoon for a routine weekend outing. They had outing passes and were expected back by 5 pm, but failed to return. Concerned school staff contacted police and lodged a formal complaint. Following the alert, Shimla SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under ASP Navdeep Singh. Over 150 personnel, supported by cyber units and drones, were deployed. CCTV footage showed the boys in New Shimla around 12:10 pm on Saturday, boarding a suspicious Hyundai i10 with a fake Delhi number plate. The car bearing a fake Delhi number was used in the crime. The car was traced to Sood, a resident of Kotkhai and an alumnus of the same school. Accused Sumit Sood (in a red T-shirt) kidnapped the three children from Shimla. Investigators say Sood exploited his knowledge of the institution's CCTV coverage and outing routines. He allegedly offered the boys a lift before driving them to his partially constructed four-storey house in Kotkhai. Only the top floor was habitable, and it was here that the children were reportedly kept handcuffed with their mouths breakthrough came when the children's parents received a ransom call from a foreign number. "The kidnapper told her— we have kidnapped your child. Do not switch off the phone. Don't even think about going to the police or the media, will talk about the money later," said Bhupender Lathar, uncle of one of the three kidnapped children. He added that Angad, who lost his father a year ago, was the only one who remembered his home number, enabling footage from a Kotkhai petrol pump confirmed the suspect's vehicle in the area, prompting police to focus their search there. A raid on Sood's residence on Sunday led to the safe recovery of the children and his subsequent arrest. Authorities also recovered a weapon and are probing links between the foreign number and Sood's relatives in Gandhi lauded the swift teamwork, saying, "District Shimla Police made a concerted effort and worked together as a team. Finally, our team successfully traced those children. The accused has been nabbed with the help of our teams and CCTVs. It was a complicated and tough case".Parents expressed relief and gratitude for the police response. "We are grateful to the police teams of Himachal Pradesh. Their swift response helped save our child. It was a terrifying moment for our family," said Lathar. Hitendra's family called it "a planned kidnapping" and thanked the state DGP and police for their to investigators, Sood's financial distress appears to have been the primary motive. He had reportedly been living in Kotkhai for years and maintained some connections with the school. Police are now piecing together his movements, communications, and any possible incident has raised security concerns at boarding schools, with calls for tighter monitoring of students during outings. Police officials confirmed they are working with the institution to review safety the investigation continues, authorities are examining the ransom call details and whether any part of the crime was orchestrated with outside assistance. Sood is expected to face charges under kidnapping and extortion laws, along with potential weapons offences.- Ends
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
3 missing students of Shimla boarding school found in Kotkhai; one arrested
Three Class VI students of a boarding schools in Shimla, who went missing under mysterious circumstances on Saturday, were found 60 km away in a small town of Kotkhai after a 24 hours search operation, police said on Sunday, adding one person was arrested in this connection. Shimla Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Gandhi said, 'The students were found at Kokunala village in Kotkhai. Sumit Sood, a resident of Kokunala who runs a bakery, has been taken into custody. A lead came from a suspicious vehicle, which directed the course of the investigation. We also checked CCTV footage, phone records and found that calls were made from a virtual number originating in California. We have arrested the accused, who is an alumnus of the school, impounded the vehicle and recovered sharp-edged weapons. A kidnapping case was registered based on the principal's complaint with the New Shimla police under Section 137(B) of the BNS,' the SP said, adding the students are all fine. The SP added, 'We will arrange for a medical examination to be conducted on them.' SHO Manoj Thakur said, 'About 150 police personnel were pressed into service to trace the missing boys. Besides, cyber teams were at work, and drones were deployed.' Upon being informed, the families of the missing students arrived in Shimla and were accompanying police teams searching for them. The missing students hail from Kullu in Himachal Pradesh, Mohali in Punjab and Karnal in Haryana, while one of them is a distant relative of a minister in a neighbouring state, sources said. According to police, the boys left the school at around 12.05 pm on Saturday and failed to return by 5.30 pm, the deadline, prompting the school authorities to alert the police. 'The missing students were in school uniform. Two of them had left their cell phones in their hostel rooms. Collectively, they were carrying around Rs 3,000 when they left. No staff member accompanied them,' a source said. A police officer said the boys had gone out on the school's designated 'Outing Day', when students are allowed to leave the campus for up to six hours. CCTV footage showed the students leaving the school gate at 12.05 pm, after which no trace of them was found. 'Apart from the missing boys, many other students also went to Mall Road. While some claimed the missing boys were with them, we checked CCTV footage from Mall Road and adjoining areas, but did not find them,' the officer said. The officer further said, 'The school administration is yet to provide any standard operating procedure (SOP) governing how students are allowed to leave the campus on Outing Day. We have learned that on several occasions, students have also hired private taxis to travel to different places in and around Shimla.' Himachal Education Minister Rohit Thakur commended Shimla police for their 'excellent work'. 'We will see if there was any shortcoming on part of the school management,' the minister added. Meanwhile, repeated attempts to contact school representatives went unanswered.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
3 ‘kidnapped' students of Shimla boarding school traced within 24 hours
Shimla: The police on Sunday cracked the case of three missing 11-year-old students of class VI from a prominent boarding school in Shimla within 24 hours. They traced and recovered the students safely from a house in Kokunala village in Kotkhai tehsil. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The children were found safe at a house in Kokunala village after they went missing on Saturday afternoon during their weekly outing. The breakthrough came after a tip-off about a suspicious vehicle led police to Kokunala village. Sumit Sood, a local resident, was taken into custody. He is also a native of Kokunala village. The vehicle and suspect were traced following a six-hour operation led by additional superintendent of police Navdeep Singh, with support from multiple police units. Investigations are ongoing, including scrutiny of CCTV footage, phone records, and calls made from a virtual number registered in California. An FIR was registered at New Shimla Police Station under Section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for kidnapping of minors. According to the school principal's complaint, the students had left the campus at around 12 pm on Saturday with an out pass to visit Mall Road, Shimla, but failed to return by the 5 pm deadline. The parents of the missing children, who are from politically influential families, received calls from the California-based virtual number on Saturday evening. The caller claimed the children were in the custody of dangerous individuals, though no ransom was demanded. The families rushed to Shimla and remained in close coordination with the police throughout the search. Shimla SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi formed multiple teams to track the children, with officers closely examining CCTV footage from various locations to trace their movements.
