Guwahati: Five people were killed and one person was injured in a shooting near Hotel Bilas Inn in Guwahati's Bora Service area on Monday evening, Guwahati Police Commissioner Partha Sarathi Mahanta said in an updated briefing reported by ANI and DY365. Six people sustained gunshot injuries in total; five of them succumbed to their injuries and one is undergoing treatment, the commissioner said.

Source: ANI via Daily Jagran

Mahanta said the firing took place at around 9 p.m. near the hotel in the Bora Service area. Police said the accused, identified as Ghanakanta Gogoi, was apprehended within an hour of the incident and the weapon used was seized. Interrogation is under way, the commissioner said. DY365 reported that, according to preliminary information, seven rounds were allegedly fired and the weapon was a licensed .32 bore pistol.

Source: DY365

The deceased include the hotel owner, Helena Bharali, and her son, Devarshi Bharali, DY365 reported. Narayan Das, 48, was also among those who died, at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). Mahanta said four of the five who lost their lives belonged to the same family, while the fifth person was from their village, and the injured person is also from the same village, according to the ANI report.

Source: DY365

On the possible motive, Mahanta said that based on the preliminary investigation, police suspect the incident stemmed from a property dispute related to the lease agreement of Hotel Bilas Inn, between the owner's side and the person who had taken the hotel on lease. He said the accused had taken the hotel on lease. Police stressed the investigation is still at a preliminary stage and that a scientific and thorough investigation is under way; the suspected lease dispute has not been established as the motive.

Source: ANI via Daily Jagran

IANS had earlier reported at least four people killed and several injured in the shooting in a lane adjoining Hotel Bilas Inn, near a Kalyan Jewellers outlet, before the commissioner's updated briefing put the toll at five dead and one injured. Police teams reached the spot after the firing, sent the bodies for post-mortem at GMCH and began recording statements and examining the scene, IANS reported.

Source: IANS