Guwahati hotel shooting: Owner Helena Bharali, four others shot dead, accused Ghanakanta Gogoi held

Hyderabad: Five people, including the owner of Hotel Bilas Inn and four of her relatives and associates, were shot dead in Guwahati on Monday night, October 26, in what police suspect was the culmination of a dispute over the hotel’s lease. The accused leaseholder, Ghanakanta Gogoi, was arrested within an hour.

Guwahati Commissioner of Police Partha Sarathi Mahanta said to media outlets that the firing took place around 9 pm at the hotel in the Bora Service area, where five people were killed and one was injured. The hotel stands on GS Road, the city’s busiest arterial road. Police and hospital officials named the dead as hotel owner Helena Bharali, her son Devarshi Kashyap, his wife Riniki Kashyap, Helena’s brother Bhudev Bharali, and driver Narayan Das. Four of the victims belonged to the same family, while the fifth was from their village. The commissioner said all the victims were linked to the owner’s side and that the leaseholder himself fired the shots.

The sixth victim, who was also shot, is being treated at Guwahati Medical College and Hospital. The injured person, aged 42, is reported to be stable.

Police seized a licensed .32 bore pistol and said Gogoi had taken the hotel on lease from its owners last year. He had been locked in a dispute with the owner’s family over the lease agreement for some time. Mahanta said the incident appeared to have resulted from this property dispute between the owner’s side and the person who had taken the hotel on lease, and that interrogation of the accused was underway. A forensic team visited the hotel along with the commissioner to examine the crime scene and collect evidence. Police have described the investigation as being at a preliminary stage and said further updates will be shared.

The killings, carried out at point blank range inside the hotel in front of dozens of people, have shaken the city, where such incidents are rare.

Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi expressed grief over the incident on Tuesday and urged authorities to conduct a thorough investigation. He also raised concerns over the law and order situation in Guwahati and said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma must take responsibility for rising crime.

with inputs from media outlets