Post-mortem of Guwahati hotel firing accused completed body handed over to family

Dibrugarh (Assam), Nov 5 (PTI) The body of the Guwahati hotel firing incident accused Ghanakanta Gogoi, who was killed in a police encounter, was handed over to his family after completion of the post-mortem on Thursday, officials said.

    The autopsy was conducted at Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh in the presence of experts from three institutions, they added.

    The prime accused in the firing incident, Gogoi (34), was killed in a police encounter in Sivasagar district early Wednesday after he allegedly attempted to escape from custody.

    "This was a case of custodial death. As per the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission, the post-mortem in such cases requires the presence of forensic experts from three medical institutions, including the hospital where the examination is conducted," a senior official of the hospital told PTI.

    Accordingly, AMCH authorities contacted the forensic medicine teams of the three medical colleges, he added.

    "Coordinating with the teams and ensuring their presence took considerable time, resulting in a delay in the commencement of the examination, although the body reached Dibrugarh yesterday itself," the official said on condition of anonymity.

    The post-mortem examination continued for more than three hours, and everything was checked, he said without sharing details.

    "Following the examination, the body was brought out of the Forensic Medicine Department and handed over to the family members at around 7:10 pm. They subsequently left for their residence with the mortal remains," the senior official said.

    Five people, including four from a business family, were killed and another person was injured in a firing at Hotel Bilas Inn in Bora Service area on the arterial GS Road in Guwahati on October 26 night over an alleged dispute between the owners of the property and its leaseholder over the management of the hotel.

    The deceased were identified as Bhudev Bharali (65), his sister Helena (58), her son Debarshi Kashyap (39) and daughter-in-law Rinika Kashyap (30), and family staffer Narayan Das (48).

    A driver of the Bharali family, Satyendra Pathak (43), was also injured in the shooting. He was undergoing treatment at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and was released on Thursday morning.

    The encounter of Gogoi took place in Gaurisagar area around 3.10 am when the accused was being taken to Sivasagar in connection with a separate case.

    Hours after a local court sent him to jail after the completion of his seven-day police remand on Tuesday, Gogoi was arrested in connection with a 2024 bank fraud case on the same day from Guwahati Central Jail.

    Gogoi, the leaseholder of Bilas Inn, was arrested soon after the hotel firing incident with a licensed .32-bore pistol allegedly used in the crime.

    The Assam Police had formed a six-member Special Investigating Team (SIT) to probe into the firing incident, with the bereaved family alleging the attack was planned and demanding exemplary punishment for the accused.

However, three members of the SIT were transferred from Guwahati within days.

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

    Following renovation of the property by the accused, disagreements arose regarding the use of the premises and provision of certain facilities, it added.

    A meeting was scheduled at the hotel on Monday to resolve these issues. However, even before the meeting could commence, an argument escalated into a physical fight, following which Gogoi opened fire on six people, the statement added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)