The Assam government has transferred three police officers who were part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the deadly shooting at Hotel Bilas Inn in Guwahati, in which five people were killed. The transfers were announced on Saturday, October 31, as part of a wider police reshuffle involving seven senior officers across the state.
The three transferred officers include Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shambhavi Mishra, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Viku L Achumi and Inspector Kuleshjyoti Bhuyan, who was serving as the Officer-in-Charge of Paltan Bazar police station.
According to the Home Department notification, Mishra has been appointed Commandant of the 6th Assam Police Battalion at Kathal in Cachar district. Achumi will take charge as Second-in-Command of the 28th Assam Police Battalion at Howly in Barpeta district. Inspector Bhuyan has been transferred to the Border Branch of Assam Police. His replacement has not yet been announced.
Mishra and Achumi will be replaced by Mrinal Deka, Principal of the Lachit Barphukan Police Academy, and Prithwiraj Rajkhowa, Superintendent of Police of Lakhipur co-district, respectively. The notification was signed by Home and Political Department Additional Chief Secretary Ajay Tewari.
The reshuffle comes just days after the October 26 shooting at Hotel Bilas Inn in Guwahati's Bora Service area, located along GS Road. Five people, including four members of a business family, were killed in the incident, while another person sustained injuries.
The police had formed a six-member SIT headed by Guwahati Joint Police Commissioner Ankur Jain to investigate the incident. The team also included DCP (Crime) Debajit Nath and Sub-Inspector Abinash Das, who have not been named among the transferred SIT members.
The prime accused, Ghanakanta Gogoi, a 34-year-old leaseholder of the hotel, was arrested shortly after the shooting. Police reportedly recovered a licensed .32-bore pistol allegedly used in the attack. A local court subsequently remanded him to seven days of police custody. He is scheduled to be produced before the court again on November 3.
According to the police, the shooting followed a dispute between the hotel's property owners and its leaseholder over the management of the establishment. The two sides had reportedly entered into a five-year lease agreement in September 2025, with a monthly rent of approximately Rs 1.8 lakh.
Disagreements reportedly developed after renovation work was carried out at the property. A meeting had been arranged on October 26 to resolve the differences, but an argument allegedly escalated into a physical altercation before the meeting could begin.
Meanwhile, the victims' family has alleged that the attack was premeditated and demanded strict action against those responsible.
The transfer of three SIT members has drawn attention as the investigation into the five deaths continues. However, the government notification has not indicated that the reshuffle is connected to the progress or findings of the investigation.
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