Guwahati: Assam Police on Tuesday revealed the identities of the five people killed in a shooting incident at a Guwahati hotel the previous evening and constituted an SIT to conduct a thorough probe into the case.The incident took place around 9 pm on Monday at Hotel Bilas Inn in Ulubari, under Paltan Bazar police station. Police said businessman Ghanakanta Gogoi (34) allegedly opened fire with a .32 pistol following a dispute with the hotel’s owners.The deceased were hotel co-owners Helena Bharali (58) and her elder brother Bhudev Bharali (65); Helena’s son Debarshi Kashyap (39); her daughter-in-law Rinika Kashyap (30); and caretaker Narayan Das (48). Bhudev’s driver, Satyendra Pathak (43), sustained bullet injuries and is undergoing treatment at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.Guwahati Police Commissioner Partha Sarathi Mahanta in a press statement said, “Four persons were found dead inside the hotel reception area, while two others were found injured on the approach road. The injured were immediately shifted to GMCH, where one of them (Narayan) subsequently succumbed to his injuries.”The commissioner added that a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by joint police commissioner Ankur Jain has been constituted to ensure a thorough, scientific and expeditious investigation.“The SIT will undertake a comprehensive investigation into the incident, including examination of forensic evidence, statements of witnesses, the circumstances leading to the firing and all other relevant aspects of the case. Further investigation is underway to establish the complete sequence of events and the circumstances surrounding the incident,” he said.Helena, her son and daughter-in-law lived at Nabin Nagar in the city while Bhudev hailed from Barpeta. Narayan, who is from Goalpara, had been staying in Barpeta for about a decade.Ghanakanta, who originally hails from Dibrugarh and had been residing at Sawkuchi in Guwahati on rent, surrendered at Basistha Police Station, about 11 km from the crime site, following the incident and was later arrested.The police commissioner in the statement said initial probe indicates that the incident arose out of a dispute relating to the lease and management of Hotel Bilas Inn.“The hotel owners had entered into a five-year lease agreement with the accused on Sept 10 last year at a monthly rent of approximately Rs 1.8 lakh. Following renovation of the property by the accused, disagreements reportedly arose regarding the use of the premises and provision of certain facilities,” the police commissioner said.He added that a meeting was scheduled at the hotel on Monday to resolve these issues. “However, even before the meeting could formally commence, an argument escalated into a physical altercation, following which the accused opened fire on six persons,” he added.The site of crime was secured with deployment of police personnel, and teams from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) were engaged for scientific examination and evidence collection.Police also seized the pistol used in the crime from the possession of the accused and also recovered and seized several empty cartridge cases and live cartridges of .32 calibre from the crime site.
