Guwahati: Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday alleged that influential people were operating behind Ghanakanta Gogoi, the accused in the Oct 26 Guwahati hotel shooting, and said they should be identified and arrested.Gaurav visited the family of Bhudev Bharali and his sister, Helena Bharali, at Issapurhati in lower Assam’s Barpeta district to offer condolences following the killing of the siblings, Helena’s son and daughter-in-law at Hotel Bilas Inn in Guwahati’s Ulubari area on Oct 26. The accused, Ghanakanta Gogoi, was the hotel’s leaseholder.“From the entire sequence of events, it appears that the accused, Ghanakanta Gogoi, who was killed in police firing, was not acting alone. There is a land mafia operating in Assam today. To grab properties in prime locations, whether houses, hotels or offices, these land mafias use criminals like Ghanakanta Gogoi as shooters as well as business fronts,” he said.“There are invisible forces and influential people operating behind him. It is important to identify and arrest them so that what happened to the Bharali family does not happen to anyone else. We fully support the family’s demand,” he added.Citing the case relating to singer Zubeen Garg’s death and the arrest of activist Pranab Doley, Gaurav said, “We see that justice is not equal for everyone. We have not received justice in the Zubeen Garg case. Pranab Doley, a social activist who has been raising his voice for tea garden workers, has been wrongly booked under the National Security Act (NSA). The law is not being applied equally, and everyone is not getting justice. Meanwhile, encounters are increasing, but crimes are also rising.”Referring to the accused’s death in police firing, Gaurav said the incident might provide some relief to the bereaved family but raised concerns over the rise in both encounters and crime in the state.“The encounter may give the Bharali family some sense of justice, but crime continues to increase across Assam. How many more people like Ghanakanta are operating in hiding? How many property, coal and stone mafias are there, and how many shooters are working for them?” he asked.
