Guwahati: The prime suspect in the Guwahati hotel mass shooting that left five people dead was killed in a police encounter in Assam's Sivasagar district on Wednesday while allegedly attempting to flee custody, a senior officer stated.

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The fatal encounter occurred in the Gaurisagar area as he was being escorted to Sivasagar regarding an independent criminal case, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Papori Chetia.

Ghanakanta Gogoi, 34, was arrested by Sivasagar police on Tuesday in connection with a 2024 bank fraud investigation, just hours after a Guwahati court remanded him to judicial custody over the hotel shooting.

"He was a trained shooter and an experienced person with different weapons. When he alighted from the police vehicle to relieve himself, he tried to snatch the service weapon of our investigating officer (IO). There was a scuffle with the accused, and our officer was badly injured. To save our officer, the PSO of the Sivasagar Sadar Police Station officer-in-charge had to fire," Chetia said.

Gogoi suffered a gunshot wound during the scuffle and was transported to a medical facility, where doctors declared him dead on arrival, the SSP noted.

The injured investigating officer is currently receiving medical treatment at a regional hospital, Chetia confirmed.

"Gogoi was a criminal-minded person. He was a threat to our officers. For defence, the personal security officer of the OC had to shoot," the SSP added.

Five individuals, including four members of a business family, were killed and another person sustained injuries when gunfire erupted at Hotel Bilas Inn in the Bora Service area of Guwahati on October 26, following a dispute between the property owners and its leaseholder regarding management rights.

Gogoi, who held the lease for the property, was apprehended shortly after the shooting, and law enforcement officers confiscated a licensed .32-bore handgun allegedly used during the attack.

PTI