Guwahati hotel shooting: CCTV shows man being shot at point-blank. He survives

CCTV footage of Monday's deadly shooting at a hotel in Guwahati has emerged, showing a man entering what appears to be a shop and firing at another man from close range. The man, identified as Satyendra Pathak, is seen being hit by a bullet and collapsing to the floor as the attacker shoots at him and flees.Pathak, who is caretaker of Hotel Bilas Inn, miraculously survived the shooting and is undergoing treatment at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).The shooting took place at Hotel Bilas Inn on Monday night, leaving five people dead, including four members of a family, and one injured. The accused, identified as Ghanakanta Gogoi, 34, the hotel's leaseholder, was arrested shortly after the incident, and the weapon used in the firing was seized.The victims have been identified as hotel owner Helena Bharali (58), her brother Bhudev Bharali (65), her son Devarshi Kashyap (39), daughter-in-law Rinika Kashyap (30) and Narayan Das (48). WHY DID THE SHOOTING OCCUR?According to Guwahati Police Commissioner Dr Partha Sarathi Mahanta, the firing took place around 9 pm on Monday. Six people sustained gunshot injuries, of whom five later died.Teams from Paltan Bazar Police Station rushed to the spot, where four people were found dead inside the hotel reception area. Two others were found injured on the approach road and were taken to GMCH, where one of them later succumbed to his injuries. Preliminary investigation suggests that the shooting was triggered by a dispute over the lease and management of the hotel, police said. The hotel owners had entered into a five-year lease agreement with Gogoi on September 10, 2025, at a monthly rent of around Rs 1.8 lakh.Following renovations carried out by the accused, disagreements arose over the use of the premises and the provision of certain facilities.A meeting had been scheduled at the hotel on Monday to resolve the differences. However, before the meeting could formally begin, an argument escalated into a physical altercation, following which Gogoi allegedly opened fire on six people, killing five."The weapon used in the incident, a .32-bore licensed pistol, has been seized. Interrogation is underway, and preliminary investigation suggests that the incident stemmed from a property dispute related to the lease agreement of the hotel," Police Commissioner Mahanta said.ACCUSED IN CUSTODY, SIT FORMEDGogoi, who belongs to Dibrugarh and was residing in Guwahati's Sawkuchi area, was traced to the Basistha Police Station area and taken into custody. Police had arrested him within an hour of the incident, according to the initial details.The scene of the shooting was secured, and teams from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) were called in for evidence collection and forensic examination. Several empty cartridge cases and live .32-calibre cartridges were recovered from the spot.In view of the gravity of the incident, the Guwahati Police Commissionerate has constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a detailed probe.The team will be headed by Joint Commissioner of Police Ankur Jain, with Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shambhavi Mishra, DCP (Crime) Debajit Nath, Additional DCP (Central) Viku Achumi, Paltan Bazar Police Station officer-in-charge Kuleshjyoti Bhuyan and sub-inspector Abinash Das as members.The SIT will examine forensic evidence, record witness statements and establish the sequence of events leading to the firing. Gogoi is being questioned and further investigation is underway.- Ends(with inputs from Purna Bikash Bora and Atiqul Habib from Guwahati)