Guwahati Bilas Inn shooting: Ghanakanta Gogoi sent to judicial custody as police end interrogation

Ghanakanta Gogoi, the prime accused in the shooting at Hotel Bilas Inn in Guwahati that claimed five lives, was sent to judicial custody on November 3 after completing seven days of police remand. Police did not seek further custody for interrogation.

The 34-year-old businessman was produced before the court after his remand ended. He was arrested shortly after the October 26 shooting, in which five people, including four members of the hotel-owning Bharali family, were killed and another person was injured.

The incident took place at Hotel Bilas Inn in the Bora Service area of Guwahati following a dispute over the lease and management of the property.

According to the preliminary findings of the police, the Bharali family had leased the hotel to Gogoi for five years on September 10, 2025, at a monthly rent of around Rs 1.8 lakh. Disagreements reportedly emerged after Gogoi renovated the property, particularly over its use and the provision of certain facilities.

A meeting had been scheduled at the hotel on October 26 to resolve the dispute. However, an argument allegedly escalated into a physical altercation before the meeting could formally begin, following which Gogoi allegedly opened 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, sustained bullet injuries and survived the attack.

Gogoi was arrested within an hour of the incident, and police seized a licensed .32-bore pistol allegedly used in the shooting.

A six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Joint Commissioner of Police Ankur Jain, was constituted to investigate the case. The team is examining forensic evidence, witness statements, the circumstances leading to the firing and other aspects of the incident.

On November 2, investigators also took Gogoi to Hotel Bilas Inn to reconstruct the crime scene. The exercise was conducted under heavy security, with dummy bodies and a dummy firearm used to recreate the sequence of events.

The SIT has also obtained the arms licence of the pistol allegedly used in the shooting and questioned Gogoi's wife, Junmoni Gogoi, as part of the investigation.

The case has drawn widespread attention in Guwahati, particularly because four of the five victims belonged to the same family. The investigation is continuing to establish the complete sequence of events and the circumstances surrounding the shooting.