Ex-student held for kidnapping three Bishop Cotton School boys in Shimla

Yog Raj Sharma

The North News

Shimla, August 11

Himachal Pradesh Police have arrested a former Bishop Cotton School (BCS) student for kidnapping three boys from the prestigious institution on Raksha Bandhan. The accused, identified as Sumit Sood, is alleged to have plotted the abduction to demand ransom after suffering heavy business losses. The Police said Sood intercepted the boys while they were on an authorised outing, offering them a lift and claiming he would drop them at Auckland. Instead, he drove towards Kotkhai after showing them a pistol.

According to investigators, the suspect took the children to his home in Kotkhai, where his family was away in Shimla. He later contacted the boys’ parents to demand ransom.

Shimla SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said the accused had no prior criminal record but had been surveilling the school for several days. Police recovered a licensed pistol registered in Sood’s father’s name, along with a sharp weapon, rope and tape.

The boys were found unharmed and returned to school within 24 hours of the abduction, in what police called a swift and coordinated operation.