Daijiworld Media Network – Shimla

Shimla, Aug 10: Three class 6 students of a boys’ boarding school in Shimla, who went missing during a day out on Saturday, were rescued from a house in Chaithla village of Kotkhai area on Sunday. Police arrested 45-year-old Sumit Sood on charges of kidnapping and making threatening calls to the parents of the boys.

One of the rescued students is the son of a Punjab-based politician from Mohali, another is the nephew of an Independent councillor from Karnal, Haryana, and the third is from Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. Police found the boys locked in a room on the fourth floor of a building, along with masks, ropes, and sharp-edged weapons. The accused allegedly made threatening calls to the parents from an international number.

The boys had left the school at 12.09 pm on Saturday but did not return by 5 pm, prompting the school principal to lodge a complaint at New Shimla Police Station. A case was registered under Section 137B of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for kidnapping minors. Police said the boys boarded a car towards the upper Shimla area after leaving the school.

Over 150 police personnel, drones, and cyber teams were deployed in the search operation. While the students were missing, their family members met Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu seeking his intervention.

Shimla deputy commissioner Anupam Kashyap said the boys underwent a medical check after being rescued. He added that school activity calendars would be reviewed, safety monitoring intensified, and advisories issued to all schools to prevent such incidents in the future.