Guwahati hotel shooting: Three SIT members transferred in police reshuffle

The Assam government on Saturday transferred three of the six police officers who were part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the shooting at a Guwahati hotel that left five people dead. Another senior officer posted in the Guwahati Central police district, where the incident took place, has also been shifted.

According to a Home Department notification, seven senior police officers have been transferred across the state with immediate effect.

Among those transferred are Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shambhavi Mishra and Additional DCP (Central) Viku L Achumi. Mishra has been appointed Commandant of the 6th Assam Police Battalion (APBn) at Kathal in Cachar, while Achumi will take charge as Second-in-Command of the 28th APBn at Howly in Barpeta.

They will be replaced by Mrinal Deka, Principal of the Lachit Barphukan Police Academy, and Prithwiraj Rajkhowa, Superintendent of Police of Lakhipur co-district, respectively, the notification signed by Home and Political Additional Chief Secretary Ajay Tewari stated.

The incumbent Commandant of the 6th APBn, Pradip Saikia, has been transferred to the police headquarters as Assistant Inspector General (Administration).

Inspector Kuleshjyoti Bhuyan, Officer-in-Charge of Paltan Bazar police station and another SIT member, has also been moved to the Border Branch of Assam Police. His replacement has not yet been announced.

Partha Pratim Duwarah, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Panbazar) in Guwahati Central, has been transferred to the 1st APBn at Ligiripukhuri in Sivasagar. He will be replaced by Rishav Phukan, Deputy Superintendent of Police at the 1st Commando Battalion in Mandakata.

The transfers come days after the shooting at Hotel Bilas Inn in Guwahati's Bora Service area on GS Road, where five people were killed and one injured following a dispute between the property's owners and its leaseholder over hotel management.

The police had constituted a six-member SIT headed by Guwahati Joint Police Commissioner Ankur Jain to investigate the incident. The team also included DCP (Crime) Debajit Nath, Mishra, Achumi, Bhuyan and Sub-Inspector Abinash Das of Paltan Bazar police station.

The bereaved family has alleged that the shooting was premeditated and demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible.

The victims were identified as Bhudev Bharali (65), his sister Helena (58), her son Debarshi Kashyap (39), daughter-in-law Rinika Kashyap (30), and family staffer Narayan Das (48). Satyendra Pathak (43), a driver employed by the family, was injured in the shooting.

The prime accused, hotel leaseholder Ghanakanta Gogoi (34), was arrested shortly after the incident. Police recovered a licensed .32-bore pistol allegedly used in the shooting. A local court in Guwahati remanded him to seven days of police custody late on Tuesday night. He is scheduled to be produced before the court again on November 3.

Earlier on Saturday, Gogoi's wife appeared before the police in Assam's Dhemaji district. Although no lookout notice had been issued against her, Guwahati Police had been searching for her to question her in connection with the case.

According to a police statement, the Bharali family had entered into a five-year lease agreement with Gogoi on September 10, 2025, at a monthly rent of around Rs 1.8 lakh.

Disagreements reportedly emerged after Gogoi renovated the property, with differences arising over the use of the premises and the provision of certain facilities.

A meeting had been scheduled at the hotel on Monday to resolve the dispute. However, an argument reportedly escalated into a physical altercation before the meeting could begin, following which Gogoi allegedly opened fire on six people, police said.