Prime suspect in Guwahati hotel shooting killed during police transport
The main accused in the October 26 hotel shooting that left five dead was shot dead in an alleged police encounter while being moved to Sivasagar for a separate bank fraud case.
The prime accused in the Oct. 26 Guwahati hotel shooting, 34-year-old Ghanakanta Gogoi, was killed in an alleged police encounter on Nov. 9, 2026, while being transferred from Guwahati to Sivasagar for a 2024 bank-fraud case. The incident occurred around 3:10 a.m. at Phulpanichiga, within the Gaurisagar police-station area, after Gogoi asked the escort vehicle to stop so he could relieve himself and then attacked the police team, according to Senior Superintendent of Police Papori Chetia.
"Ghanakanta then tried to snatch an officer’s service revolver. Three shots were fired from the revolver amid the scuffle, and one of our officers was seriously injured," Chetia said. Chetia added that a police officer had to use his service weapon to prevent Gogoi from escaping, citing concerns about his criminal intent and possession of weapons. The Sivasagar police had obtained a production warrant from a Guwahati court related to the bank-fraud case. A Guwahati court had placed Gogoi in judicial custody on Nov. 3 after completing a seven-day police remand for the hotel-shootout case. His lawyer had previously raised safety concerns, prompting the court to order regular medical checks and protection against custodial torture. The October 26 shooting resulted in five deaths – Bhudev Bharali (65), Helena Bharali (58), Debarshi Kashyap (39), Rinika Kashyap (30) and Narayan Das (48) – and one injury. An Assam Police Special Investigation Team linked the incident to a dispute over the hotel’s lease, renovation costs and financial arrangements. Gogoi had taken the hotel on a five-year lease from the Bharali family on Sept. 10, 2025, with a monthly rent of ₹1.8 lakh. The SIT is also investigating how Gogoi acquired the .32-bore pistol used in the attack, which he allegedly bought in Dimapur, Nagaland, in Oct. 2024 for about ₹3 lakh. Gogoi’s death adds to a series of reported police encounters in Assam since May 2021, a period during which the state recorded 210 encounters, resulting in more than 80 deaths and over 180 injuries, according to human-rights groups.