The three Class 6 students, all 11, of Bishop Cotton School, in Shimla, who went missing on Saturday afternoon, were found from a village in Kotkhai area of Shimla district on Sunday, said police.
The three boys were found from a house in Chaithala in Kotkhai and one person has been arrested in connection with the matter, police said.
The students, belonging from well off families of Karnal (Haryana), Mohali (Punjab) and Kullu (Himachal Pradesh), went out at 12.09 pm during their weekly outing on Saturday, police said, adding that when they did not return by 5 pm, school authorities informed police. A case of kidnapping was registered at New Shimla police station on the complaint of school headmaster and probe was initiated.
After checking the CCTV footage, it was found that the students boarded a car bearing Delhi registration number, said police. The last location of the kids was New Shimla around 12.10 pm on Saturday and according to preliminary information, they boarded a car that went towards upper Shimla area, they added. The police were finally able to trace the vehicle.
“We have arrested Sumit Sood, 45, of Chaithala in Kotkhai,” confirmed Shimla superintendent of police (SP) Sanjeev Gandhi.
“He had locked the students on the fourth floor of a building. The families also received threat call from international number,” said Gandhi, adding that they are scrutinising the phone records.
Gandhi further said the children were medically examined after being brought back and are safe.
The families of the children had also met the chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and sought his intervention. “The families had met me and we had assured them that the safety of children is our priority. The children were traced to Kothkhai and are being brought back safely to Shimla,” said chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu while talking to HT.
Police used CCTV and cyber investigation tools: Gandhi
“The police, with alertness, traced the children safely. We immediately acted, forming teams led by additional SP Navdeep Singh, SHO Sadar, and SHO Chhota Shimla, along with officials from neighbouring districts. Together, we successfully traced the children. This is a kidnapping case, and we will investigate the reasons behind it. The way our police team worked on this sensitive case is appreciable,” said Gandhi.
“We used CCTV and cyber investigation tools to crack the case. We identified the vehicle and located it in Chaithila village in Kotkhai. Investigation is being done with due diligence, keeping all aspects open. Our priority was to find the children safely and we fulfilled it,” Gandhi added.
About 150 police personnel were engaged in search operations to trace them, cyber teams were at work and drones were also pressed into service, New Shimla police station SHO Manoj Thakur said.
“Congratulations to SSP Shimla and the entire Shimla police team for their dedication and hard work. This success reflects the new face of Himachal Pradesh Police, where every rank works together to deliver swift and effective results,” said Ashok Tewari, DGP Himachal Pradesh.
Education minister Rohit Thakur also lauded the Shimla police.
Schools and parents need to be more vigilant: DC
Calling for more vigil, Shimla deputy commissioner Anupam Kashyap said, “School activity calendars will be reviewed in light of the incident and safety monitoring will be intensified. Both the parents and the schools need to be more vigilant.” He said that the district administration said it will soon issue safety directions to all schools to prevent such incidents in the future.
“Children need to be guided more intensively in schools. Generally, such issues don’t arise in Shimla and Himachal. Many officers regularly monitor schools, adopt them, and give students tips on physical fitness and safety,” he said.