Guwahati: Ghanakanta Gogoi, the prime accused in the Hotel Bilas Inn shooting in Guwahati that left five people dead, was sent to judicial custody on November 3 after completing seven days of police remand.
The 34-year-old businessman was produced before the court after the expiry of his remand. Police did not seek an extension of his custody for further interrogation.
Gogoi was arrested shortly after the October 26 shooting at Hotel Bilas Inn in the Bora Service area of Guwahati. The incident claimed five lives, including those of four members of the hotel-owning Bharali family, while another person sustained bullet injuries.
Preliminary police findings suggest that the shooting followed a dispute over the hotel’s lease and management.
According to investigators, the Bharali family had leased the property to Gogoi for five years on September 10, 2025, at a monthly rent of approximately Rs 1.8 lakh. Differences reportedly surfaced after Gogoi renovated the hotel, particularly over its usage and the availability of certain facilities.
A meeting had been arranged at the hotel on October 26 to resolve the disagreements. However, an argument allegedly turned into a physical confrontation before the meeting could formally begin. Gogoi is accused of subsequently opening fire on six people.
The deceased were identified as hotel co-owners Helena Bharali (58) and her brother Bhudev Bharali (65), Helena’s son Debarshi Kashyap (39), daughter-in-law Rinika Kashyap (30), and family staff member Narayan Das (48).
Satyendra Pathak, a driver associated with the family, was also shot during the incident but survived.
Gogoi was apprehended within an hour of the shooting. Police also seized a licensed .32-bore pistol allegedly used in the attack.
A six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Joint Commissioner of Police Ankur Jain, was constituted to investigate the case. The team is examining forensic findings, witness statements and the circumstances that led to the shooting.
As part of the investigation, police took Gogoi to Hotel Bilas Inn on November 2 to reconstruct the crime scene. The exercise was conducted under tight security, with dummy bodies and a dummy firearm used to recreate the sequence of events.
Investigators have also obtained the arms licence for the pistol allegedly used in the shooting and questioned Gogoi’s wife, Junmoni Gogoi, in connection with the case.
The shooting has drawn considerable attention in Guwahati, particularly as four of the five victims belonged to the same family. The SIT investigation is continuing to establish the sequence of events and examine all aspects of the case.