India News | SIT Formed to Probe Hotel Shooting Incident in Guwahati That Killed 5
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Five people were killed and one injured after an accused allegedly opened fire at Hotel Bilas Inn in Guwahati's Lachit Nagar on October 26 following a dispute over the lease and management of the property, police said. The accused, identified as Ghanakanta Gogoi, has been taken into custody, and a Special Investigation Team has been constituted to probe the incident.
Guwahati (Assam) [India], October 27 (ANI): A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe into the shooting incident in Guwahati in which five people were killed and one injured in a firing incident at a hotel in the Lachit Nagar area of Guwahati on Monday night.
The SIT will be headed by Ankur Jain, Joint Commissioner of Police, Guwahati. Its members include Shambhavi Mishra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), Guwahati; Dr Debajit Nath, APS, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), Guwahati; and Viku Achumi, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), Guwahati.
Inspector Kuleshjyoti Bhuyan, Officer-in-Charge of Paltan Bazar Police Station, and Sub-Inspector Abinash Das of Paltan Bazar Police Station are also part of the team.
Paltan Bazar Police Station received information about multiple gunshots at around 9 pm on October 26. Police teams immediately reached the hotel, where four people were found dead inside the reception area, while two others were found injured on the approach road.
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The injured were shifted to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where one of them subsequently succumbed to his injuries. One person remains under treatment at the hospital.
The deceased have been identified as Bhudev Bharali (65), a resident of Barpeta; Helena Bharali (58), Debarshi Kashyap (39) and Rinika Kashyap (30), all residents of Nabin Nagar in Guwahati; and Narayan Das (48), a resident of Barpeta.
The injured person has been identified as Satyendra Pathak (43), a resident of Barpeta, who is undergoing treatment at GMCH.
Police identified the accused as Ghanakanta Gogoi (34), originally from Dibrugarh and currently residing in the Sawkuchi area of Guwahati. He was traced to the Basistha Police Station area and taken into police custody. The pistol allegedly used in the offence has also been seized.
According to preliminary findings of the investigation, the incident stemmed from a dispute concerning the lease and management of Hotel Bilas Inn.
Police said the hotel owners had entered into a five-year lease agreement with the accused on September 10, 2025, at a monthly rent of approximately Rs 1.8 lakh. Following renovation of the property by the accused, disagreements reportedly arose over the use of the premises and the provision of certain facilities.
A meeting had been scheduled at the hotel on October 26 to resolve the issues. However, according to the preliminary investigation, an argument escalated into a physical altercation before the meeting could formally begin, following which the accused allegedly opened fire on six people.
The police secured the scene of the incident and deployed teams from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for scientific examination and evidence collection.
Several empty cartridge cases and live cartridges of .32 calibre were recovered and seized from the scene, the police said.
The accused is currently being interrogated by the investigating officer as part of the ongoing probe. (ANI)
(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)