Guwahati hotel shooting: Pistol was deposited with police before polls

The pistol allegedly used in the Hotel Bilas Inn shooting in Guwahati was on police records, as the accused had deposited it at Paltan Bazar police station before this year's Assam Assembly elections, Pratidin Time reported on Sunday.

Ghanakanta Gogoi, 34, deposited the weapon on March 17, 2026, in line with the model code of conduct, and collected it again after the polls, the channel said. It reported that he handed in the pistol along with its licence when he surrendered after the shooting. The licence was issued in Nagaland.

Wife questioned again

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) questioned Gogoi's wife, Junmoni Gogoi, at Paltan Bazar police station on Sunday. India Today NE reported that she had been told to bring documents linked to the case and the keys of vehicles connected to it.

According to Pratidin Time, she repeated her earlier claim that her husband had fired in self-defence. Police have seized her mobile phone to retrieve call recordings, since Gogoi is said to have called her after the shooting. Citing police sources, the channel said he told her that he had shot six people and asked her to leave their rented house at Saukuchi with their child. These details have not been confirmed in an official police statement. Junmoni Gogoi is not an accused in the case.

India Today NE said the SIT has also obtained the licence of the pistol and put on hold its plan to recreate the crime scene at the hotel while it collects documents and other evidence.

The case so far

Five people were killed at Hotel Bilas Inn in the Bora Service area of Ulubari at around 9 pm on October 26: Helena Bharali, a co-owner of the property; her brother Bhudev Bharali; her son Debarshi Kashyap; his wife Rinika Kashyap; and Narayan Das. Satyendra Pathak, 43, was injured and is being treated at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.

Police have described a dispute over the hotel's lease as the main line of investigation. The owners had signed a five-year lease with Gogoi on September 10, 2025, at a monthly rent of about Rs 1.8 lakh. He was arrested shortly after the shooting, remanded to seven days of police custody on October 27 and is being questioned at Latasil police station. He is due to be produced in court again on November 3.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier questioned how the accused obtained an arms licence from Nagaland. The self-defence claim made by the accused's family has not been accepted publicly by police and is for the investigation and the courts to test.