Police Arrest Suspect in Guwahati Hotel Shooting That Killed Five
Guwahati police have detained Ghanakanta Gogoi in connection with a gun attack at Hotel Bilas Inn that left five dead and one injured, and a special investigation team has been formed to probe the incident.
Five people were killed and another injured when gunfire erupted at Hotel Bilas Inn in Guwahati's Lachit Nagar on Monday night, police said. The police arrived at the scene around 9 p.m. after receiving reports of the shooting and found four bodies in the reception area and two injured individuals on the approach road; one of the injured later died at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.
The victims have been identified as Bhudev Bharali, 65; Helena Bharali, 58; Debarshi Kashyap, 39; Rinika Kashyap, 30; and Narayan Das, 48. The surviving injured person, Satyendra Pathak, 43, remains under treatment.
Police arrested 34-year-old Ghanakanta Gogoi, a resident of Sawkuchi, Guwahati, who had a lease agreement with the hotel owners since September of the previous year. According to the police press release, the lease was for five years at a monthly rent of about Rs 1.8 lakh, and Gogoi had invested roughly Rs 35 lakh in renovations. A meeting to discuss a dispute over the lease and management reportedly turned violent, after which Gogoi opened fire.
Investigators recovered empty cartridge cases and live .32-calibre cartridges from the scene. The suspect was located near Basistha Police Station and taken into custody within an hour of the incident. The Criminal Investigation Department and the Forensic Science Laboratory are examining the evidence.
Gogoi has pending cases in several Assam police stations, primarily related to fraud and alleged weapon brandishing. Police are also reviewing an earlier allegation that he displayed a firearm during a separate incident involving threats to a businessman.
A Special Investigation Team, headed by Joint Commissioner Ankur Jain, IPS, has been constituted to investigate the shooting, examine forensic findings, and record witness statements. The team includes senior officers from the Guwahati Police Commissionerate.
The investigation continues to determine the precise sequence of events and the trigger for the shooting.