Shimla, Aug. 12 -- An alumnus of Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, Sumit Sood (45), who was arrested a day ago for allegedly kidnapping three class six students of the school, had offered them a lift by introducing himself as a former Cottonian, a senior police officer said on Monday, adding the accused had used a US-based VPN number to make threatening internet calls to the victims' parents. Shimla superintendent of police (SP) Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said that Sood, an engineering graduate who had studied at BCS until class 8, had been planning the kidnapping for the past eight to 10 days and used his familiarity with school protocols to his advantage. "He lured the boys by introducing himself as an 'old boy' - a term used to refer former students of the school - and promised to drop them at Auckland Tunnel. But after crossing Dhalli, he brandished a revolver and took them to his home in Kokonala," the SP said. Police recovered a revolver and a knife from the accused, who was arrested on Sunday. The car used in the crime has also been seized. The SP said that Sood had suffered losses in business and planned the kidnapping for financial gain. The 11-year-old boys were rescued from a house in Chaithla village, Kotkhai, on Sunday, a day after they went missing during a day out, police said. Police had got their first breakthrough when on the basis of the CCTV they were able to zero in on the i10 car bearing Delhi registration number that later turned out to be fake. The last location of the kids was New Shimla around 12.10 pm on Saturday after which the accused drove towards the upper Shimla area. "We were racing against time as the lives of the children were at stake," said Gandhi, who admitted that pursuing multiple conflicting reports of sighting the children from Mall Road to a bus stand, McDonald's, and a book house or even a woman taking the children along."We started from zero, reviewed CCTV footage from the school's control room, and saw the boys leaving the gate at 12.12 pm with a man, but not reaching their supposed destination. We then began vehicle tracing and identified two Delhi-numbered cars. Through coordinated efforts by station in-charges from New Shimla, Sadar, Kotkhai, and Kumarsein, we narrowed it down," Gandhi said. "The suspect's car was seen heading towards Narkanda, then returning to Chaila, and later towards Kotkhai and Kudu. Eventually, we located the vehicle and rescued all three children safely," Gandhi added. As per police, Sood had used a California-based VPN number to make threatening internet calls. He had called the child's mother on mobile in Karnal, Haryana. After this, the accused called the other child's father in Kullu and asked him to be ready for the next call. He also called the third child's father's number in Mohali, but his father missed the call. "He told parents the children were with a dangerous gang, but there was no explicit ransom demand at that stage," Gandhi said."We will be adding new sections also to the FIR," said Gandhi as police had recovered arms, 10-12 mobiles along with laptop from the accused while rescuing the children. The BCS management is now considering changing the standard operating procedures for outing. BCS Shimla in its 170 years history has for the first time witnessed such an incident and is now considering change in the safety protocols. Addressing a press briefing with school principal Mathew P John confirmed that the school has already begun drafting a new security protocol covering all outings, including night-outs and holidays. "We have decided that senior students will not be allowed to go out without adult supervision. Himachal Pradesh is one of the safest states in the country, but this incident has made us realise we must completely review and revise our protocols. We will be getting help from the police to finalise this," Mathew said, adding that the school would seek police assistance in drafting the new protocols. Shimla MLA and BCS alumnus Harish Janartha, who also addressed the media, said, "Children up to Class 5 are accompanied by teachers, while senior classes (6 to 12) go out in groups so they can watch out for one another." Janartha said, "Taking lift is punishable in the school though children are allowed to hire a taxi. But as the accused had introduced himself as an old boy and offered lift so the children sat in the vehicle. Education minister Rohit Thakur on Monday felicitated Kotkhai resident Raunak Sharma, who helped police trace the car of the accused leading to subsequent arrest and safe recovery of the children on Sunday. Raunak, who works as a transporter in Kotkhai, knew the accused for about one and a half years. "Since Sunday morning, we had been seeing and hearing news of the children's disappearance in the media. When the police during inquiry about the car showed him a photo of a suspicious vehicle with Delhi number, I immediately recognised it as Sumit's vehicle," he said. Though Raunak had not seen the children, he helped the police in identifying the vehicle and escorting police to Sumit's house where the car was parked. It was during the search of the house that police recovered the children....