3 Assam Cops Part Of Guwahati Hotel Shooting Probe Team Transferred

Three police officers who were part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the October 26 shooting at a Guwahati hotel have been transferred to new postings as part of a reshuffle involving seven Assam Police officers.

Those transferred include DCP (Central) Shambhavi Mishra, Additional DCP Viku L. Achumi and Inspector Kuleshjyoti Bhuyan, who was in charge of Paltan Bazar Police Station. All three were members of the six-officer SIT formed after the shooting at Hotel Bilas Inn on GS Road, which left five people dead and one injured.

According to a Home and Political Department notification, Mishra has been posted as Commandant of the 6th Assam Police Battalion at Kathal in Cachar district. Achumi has been appointed Second-in-Command of the 28th Assam Police Battalion at Howly in Barpeta, while Bhuyan has been transferred to the Border Branch of Assam Police.

Their replacements in Guwahati Central will be Mrinal Deka, Principal of the Lachit Barphukan Police Academy, and Prithwiraj Rajkhowa, who is currently serving as Superintendent of Police of Lakhipur co-district.

The notification also names four other officers affected by the reshuffle. Pradip Saikia, who was Commandant of the 6th Assam Police Battalion, has been posted as Assistant Inspector General (Administration) at Assam Police Headquarters.

Partha Pratim Duwarah, who was serving as ACP (Panbazar), has been transferred to the 1st Assam Police Battalion at Ligiripukhuri in Sivasagar. Rishav Phukan, DSP with the 1st Commando Battalion at Mandakata, will take over his position.

The transfers come days after the shooting at Hotel Bilas Inn, where a dispute over the property's lease and management allegedly turned violent.

Police have identified the hotel's leaseholder, Ghanakanta Gogoi, as the prime accused. According to the police account, the property was leased to him under a five-year agreement signed in September 2025, with a monthly rent of around Rs 1.8 lakh. Disagreements reportedly emerged over the use of the premises and its facilities after renovation work.

A meeting was scheduled for October 26 to settle the dispute. However, an argument allegedly broke out during the meeting, following which shots were fired. Five people were killed and a driver sustained injuries.

The Guwahati Police formed a six-member SIT headed by Joint Commissioner of Police Ankur Jain to investigate the case. DCP (Crime) Debajit Nath and Sub-Inspector Abinash Das of Paltan Bazar Police Station were also part of the team.

Mishra, Achumi and Bhuyan were among the officers initially assigned to the probe. Their transfer has drawn attention because of their roles in the SIT, although the Home Department notification does not specify any link between the postings and the investigation.

Gogoi was arrested soon after the shooting. Police also seized a licensed .32-bore pistol suspected to have been used in the firing. A local court subsequently remanded him to seven days of police custody. He is due to be produced before the court again on November 3.

The families of the victims have alleged that the attack was premeditated and demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible. Gogoi's wife has also appeared before police in Dhemaji district as part of the continuing investigation.

The police have not announced any change in the SIT's leadership following the transfers.