Blindfolds, Tied Hands, Pizza & Paranthas: Shimla School Kid Recounts Kidnap Ordeal

Last Updated:August 13, 2025, 12:16 IST

After locking the children on his fourth floor, Sumit Sood bought them pizza, let them use the washroom, and later served Maggi in an apparent attempt to keep them calm

Sumit Sood served the children paranthas and later bread omelette. (News18 Hindi)

Blindfolded, hands tied with rope, and mouths sealed with tape — this was how three Bishop Cotton School students spent hours in captivity after being kidnapped from outside their Shimla school. Inside a locked fourth-floor room of a Kotkhai house, the accused, Sumit Sood, tried to keep them calm by offering pizza, Maggi, paranthas, and bread omelette. He even asked them to fetch a carrom board, though they were not allowed to leave.

The child, a class 6 student named Angad recounted that he and his friends were accosted by Sumit Sood as they exited the school gate. Sood, acting alone, persuaded them to get into his car. The kidnapper did not harm them but blindfolded them near Adventure Park, Kufri, before driving them to Kotkhai.

After confining the children on the fourth floor of his house, Sood went to the market to buy pizza and served it to them. During this time, he allowed them to use the washroom and later offered Maggi as well.

Angad described that when the accused took a different route instead of heading towards Mall Road, one of them pointed out that it was the wrong way. At that moment, Sood threatened them by showing a gun and drove them away. The child said the accused tied their hands with a rope and later asked for his mother’s phone number before calling her.

Angad added that the accused also blindfolded them and covered their mouths with tape. On Sunday morning, he served them paranthas and later bread omelette. During this time, the accused even asked them to bring a carrom board.

Later, police reached the spot, broke open the door, and rescued the children. The child shared he remembered God throughout the ordeal. At first, he was not afraid, but fear set in later.

The child’s uncle, Pappu Lathar, said the kidnappers initially held the children at gunpoint and demanded their home numbers. When the child’s mother answered the call, the kidnappers threatened her, saying, “We have kidnapped your child. We have him at gunpoint. We want money. Do not switch off the phone. Do not tell the police."

Angad’s uncle said Himachal Police and locals cooperated fully in the rescue. Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh and several Haryana leaders stayed in touch, assuring the family that everything would be fine and the children would return safely.

He said the first call from the kidnapper was to Angad’s mother, who initially could not believe it. The family then contacted the school and learned that three children were missing. He added that Angad’s elder brother studies in Class 9 at the same school, and four other children from their family are alumni.

Shimla Police swiftly resolved the case, tracing the children to a residence in Kotkhai, nearly 80 km from the city, and rescuing them unharmed. The suspect, 30-year-old Sumit Sood, was taken into custody and later presented before the court, which sent him to police remand until August 13.

According to the police, Sood kidnapped the three children from the 160-year-old Bishop Cotton School on Saturday. He lured them with the promise of dropping them at Mall Road but instead took them to Kotkhai. He had abducted the children to extort money after losing Rs 40–50 lakh in the share market. Sood had also studied at the same school.

Location :

Shimla, India, India

First Published:

August 13, 2025, 12:16 IST

News india Blindfolds, Tied Hands, Pizza & Paranthas: Shimla School Kid Recounts Kidnap Ordeal

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