Guwahati/Sivasagar: Ghanakanta Gogoi, the man police identified as the key suspect in last week’s fatal shooting outside a Guwahati hotel, died in the early hours of Wednesday after being shot during an alleged bid to break away from a police escort in upper Assam’s Sivasagar district.
Police were moving Gogoi from Guwahati to Sivasagar, roughly 350 km away, for proceedings in an unrelated cheating-and-forgery case when the convoy reached Gaurisagar at about 3:12 am. Sivasagar Senior Superintendent of Police Papori Chetia said Gogoi asked to step out of the vehicle, following which he allegedly tried to grap the investigating officer’s firearm.
“When the team reached Gaurisagar, he said he wanted to answer nature’s call. After he got down from the vehicle, he tried to snatch the service weapon of the investigating officer. A scuffle ensued,” Chetia said.
“At this juncture, another policeman fired from his service weapon to save his senior officer. This led to Gogoi sustaining bullet injuries. He was taken to Sivasagar civil hospital where he was declared brought dead. One of our officers, who sustained injuries, has also been admitted there,” she added.
Hotel Killings And Motive
The development came eight days after the October 26 violence at Hotel Bilas Inn near Guwahati’s Bora Service area. Gogoi allegedly opened fire on six people, among them hotel owner Helena Bharali, 58; five victims died at the scene, as reported by Hindustan Times.
Investigators believe the attack was linked to a disagreement surrounding the hotel’s lease, which Gogoi had reportedly taken from Bharali about a year earlier. Guwahati Police Commissioner Partha Sarathi Mahanta had said the two sides were engaged in a dispute that may have triggered the firing, while stressing that the inquiry was still continuing.
Gogoi was apprehended on the day of the shooting. After a week in police custody, a Guwahati court placed him in judicial custody on Tuesday; Sivasagar Police then took him into their custody that evening in connection with the separate case.
Questions Over Custody
The killing is likely to draw attention because a Kamrup Metro district court had earlier instructed Guwahati Police not to move Gogoi out of jail after sunset and to safeguard him while in custody. The direction followed appeals from the accused and demands from victims’ relatives for immediate punishment rather than a prolonged trial.
Defending the operation, Chetia said the court order was only one element of the process, but described Gogoi as a dangerous offender. “The court’s directions are part of a process. But Gogoi is a criminal and also a shooter involved in a heinous crime. We were taking adequate care to ensure the team reached Sibsagar from Guwahati without any glitch, but there was a threat to the police team from Gogoi. Despite our efforts, our team had to resort to extreme measures to protect our team members,” she said.
Police also said Gogoi was wanted in Sivasagar for allegedly obtaining a vehicle loan through fraudulent means, and that a case had been registered against him there.
