Assam Police forms SIT to probe killing of five over Guwahati hotel lease dispute

Assam Police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe a firing incident in Guwahati in which five people died. Guwahati Joint Commissioner of Police Ankur Jain will head the six-member team, the police department said in a statement on Tuesday.

The firing incident happened near Hotel Bilas Inn in Guwahati’s Bora Service area on Monday evening, in which the owner of the hotel, Helena Bharali (58), three family members and one other person died.

The other deceased persons have been identified as Debarshi Kashyap (39), Rinika Kashyap (30), Bhudev Bharali (65) and Narayan Das (48).

Debarshi was Helena’s son, and Rinika was his wife. Bhudev was Helena’s elder brother, and Narayan was their driver, according to the police.

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Police arrested prime accused

Police arrested the prime accused, Ghanakanta Gogoi (34), hours after the incident on Monday. Police said he had taken the hotel owned by Helena on lease and, according to the initial investigation, a dispute over the lease led to the firing incident.

According to the police statement, the firing took place at around 9 pm after an argument over the lease and management.

“The hotel owners had entered into a five-year lease agreement with the accused on 10 September 2025, at a monthly rent of approximately ₹1.8 lakh. Following renovation of the property by the accused, disagreements reportedly arose regarding the use of the premises and provision of certain facilities,” police said.

They said both parties had agreed to sit together to resolve the matter, and a meeting was scheduled for Monday evening at the hotel premises.

“A meeting was fixed to resolve these issues, but before it could formally commence, an argument escalated into a physical altercation, following which the accused opened fire on six persons,” police said.

“The accused was subsequently traced to the Basistha Police Station area and brought into police custody. The pistol used in the offence has also been seized,” the statement read.

Also Read | Lease dispute suspected motive behind shooting that left 5 people dead in Guwahati

Pistol seized, empty cartridge cases recovered

Police seized the licensed .32-calibre pistol allegedly used in the firing. Several empty cartridge cases and live cartridges of the same calibre were also recovered from the scene, officials said.

The scene of the incident was secured after the firing, and teams from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) were engaged to examine the site and collect evidence.

SIT to conduct comprehensive investigation

Later, on Tuesday afternoon, Assam Police announced the SIT, headed by senior IPS officer Ankur Jain, with Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shambhavi Mishra, DCP (Crime) Debajit Nath, Additional DCP (Central) Viku Achumi, Paltan Bazar police station officer-in-charge Kuleshjyoti Bhuyan and sub-inspector Abinash Das as members.

The SIT has been tasked with conducting a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances leading to the firing, examining forensic evidence and witness statements, and establishing the sequence of events.

Police said the team would also examine other relevant aspects of the case to ensure a thorough and time-bound investigation.

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After the incident, the bodies were sent to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for postmortem, and the principal of the institute, Babul Kumar Bezbaruah, said the report would be handed over to the police soon.

Bezbaruah said that one person, Satyendra Pathak (43), was brought in with several bullet injuries and was undergoing treatment.

Helena’s family members said the bodies would be cremated in Barpeta, at their ancestral home. Police said the bodies would be handed over to the families on Tuesday evening after the postmortem examinations.

The family members said Helena built the business through hard work and that the entire family was involved in it. “She was not the only owner, but she led the business and took major decisions,” they said, adding that they did not sense the danger.

“We knew that there were issues and the meeting was called for that, but we didn’t imagine this could go this far,” they added.