Guwahati hotel shooting case: Prime accused killed in police ‘encounter’

Ghanakanta Gogoi

The prime accused in the October 26 Guwahati hotel shooting, which killed five, was shot dead in an alleged police encounter in Sivasagar on Wednesday 9November 4, 2026).

The encounter took place around 3.10 a.m. at Phulpanichiga under the Gaurisagar police station limits, when police were taking the accused, 34-year-old Ghanakanta Gogoi, from Guwahati to Sivasagar in connection with a 2024 bank fraud case registered in the district.

Gogoi asked the police personnel to stop the vehicle to relieve himself, and then attacked the accompanying team and tried to escape from custody, according to Sivasagar’s Senior Superintendent of Police Papori Chetia “Ghanakanta then tried to snatch an officer’s service revolver. Three shots were fired from the revolver amid the scuffle, and one of our officers was seriously injured,” she said.

Ms. Chetia said one of the police personnel, accompanying the team, had to use his service weapon to stop Gogoi from escaping. “Knowing about his criminal intentions and use of weapons, we had to take precautions,” she added. The Sivasagar police had obtained a production warrant from a Guwahati court in connection with the bank fraud case.

On Tuesday (November 3, 2026), a Guwahati court sent Gogoi to judicial custody after his seven-day police remand in the hotel shootout case was completed. The Sivasagar police subsequently took him into custody in connection with the pending bank fraud case registered in Sivasagar.

Gogoi’s lawyer had earlier raised concerns over his safety during police custody, following which a Guwahati court directed the police to ensure safeguards, including regular medical examinations and protection against custodial torture.

Gogoi had been arrested within an hour of the October 26 shooting, which left five dead — Bhudev Bharali (65), Helena Bharali (58), Debarshi Kashyap (39), Rinika Kashyap (30) and Narayan Das (48). Another person was injured.

The Assam Police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) which found that the hotel shootout could have stemmed from a dispute over the property’s lease, renovation expenses and financial arrangements. Gogoi took the hotel from the Bharalis on a five-year lease on September 10, 2025, with the monthly rent reportedly fixed at ₹1.8 lakh.

The SIT is also probing how Gogoi obtained the .32-bore pistol allegedly used in the shooting. He reportedly purchased the firearm, along with 40 rounds of ammunition, from a shop in Nagaland’s Dimapur in October 2024 for about ₹3 lakh.

Gogoi’s death is the latest in a series of alleged police encounters in Assam since May 2021, when Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn in as the Chief Minister. The State recorded 210 police encounters till January 24, leading to more than 80 deaths and over 180 injuries.

Human rights organisations noted a 20-fold surge in shooting incidents involving the police between May 2021 and January 2024 compared to the period immediately preceding it.

Police have consistently maintained that most suspects died or were injured when they allegedly tried to escape custody or snatch service weapons from officers during investigations.