TNR News Network
Shimla:
In a shocking revelation that adds a disturbing twist to the Bishop Cotton School (BCS) kidnapping case Himachal Pradesh capital Shimla, accused Sumit Sood, an engineering graduate and former student of the school, has reportedly told investigators that he planned the abduction after watching episodes of the popular TV series “Crime Patrol”.
According to the police, Sood, who hails from a once well-off family, was under financial stress after incurring losses in business and turned to crime as a desperate attempt to recover. What’s more, he used a California-based virtual number to contact the parents of the three Class VI students he abducted, in an effort to hide his identity and location.
Well-planned, TV-inspired crime with local knowledge
Investigators said the accused had been planning the kidnapping for over a week, using his deep knowledge of the school’s routines to time his move. Sood had studied at BCS from Class III to VIII and knew that several students would be out for weekly outing during the Rakhi holiday weekend.
Using this information, he arrived near the BCS Forest Gate as early as 5.45 am on Saturday. By 12.12 pm, when the three students exited the campus for their weekly outing, Sood approached the three students under the guise of being an old Cottonian and offered them a lift to Auckland Tunnel, claiming it would help them reach Mall Road faster.
The students trusted him and got into his car. Sood then diverted the route through Tolland, Chhota Shimla, Sanjauli Bypass and Dhalli. When the boys realised they weren’t going toward the market and began to question him, Sood declared they were being kidnapped.
At one point, one of the students asked if this was a prank. But as they neared Kufri, Sood pulled over, showed them a revolver and instructed them to blindfold themselves with tape, which they did out of fear.
‘You are in Solan now’: Psychological manipulation and ransom plan
After driving to his ancestral home in Kokunala village in Kotkhai, Sood changed the boys’ clothes, gave them sweaters and told them they were in Solan, not Shimla. He served them pizza from his fridge and asked for their parents’ phone numbers.
Using a California-based virtual private number (VPN-based VoIP service), he made ransom calls, demanding money while ensuring the origin of the call couldn’t be traced easily. His digital trail, however, eventually gave him away.
Crucial CCTV footage cracks the case
The breakthrough came from the CCTV footage outside the school’s gate, which showed the three students walking out at 12.12 pm, followed by other boys who later appeared in footage at Khallini and Tolland — but not the abducted trio. This clue suggested they had taken a different route.
The police scanned hundreds of vehicles, particularly two — a local taxi and a suspicious Delhi-registered vehicle. The taxi was cleared, but the other matched with Sood’s car. This led investigators to narrow down his location to Kotkhai.
Engineering graduate to crime plotter
Sood had completed his engineering from Meerut and had no prior criminal record. However, the pressure of personal losses and the illusion of a quick fix inspired by crime-based reality shows pushed him toward this desperate act, police said.
He even admitted during questioning that “Crime Patrol episodes gave him ideas about how to plan and conceal the crime.”
