Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi on November 4 said the death of Ghanakanta Gogoi, the accused in the killing of five people at Guwahati’s Hotel Bilas Inn, should not be mourned, but maintained that he opposed police encounters and believed the accused should have faced trial.
Reacting to Ghanakanta Gogoi’s death in police firing in Sivasagar, the Sivasagar MLA described him as a “professional killer” and an “extremist”, saying his death should not cause public grief.
Akhil Gogoi said he had wanted the accused to face a speedy trial in the Hotel Bilas Inn murder case, in which five people, including four members of the same family, were shot dead. He said he had urged the police to file the chargesheet within 15 days and complete the trial within three months.
He maintained that a court should have awarded the death penalty if the accused was found guilty, rather than allowing the case to end in a police encounter.
Reacting to the Sivasagar Senior Superintendent of Police’s account, the MLA described the incident as an encounter and said the accused was an experienced shooter. He also claimed that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) had identified Ghanakanta Gogoi as the “biggest criminal in the entire country”, a claim that could not be independently verified.
Ghanakanta Gogoi was killed in police firing near Phulpanisiga in Sivasagar district on Wednesday. Police claimed that he attempted to snatch a service revolver from a police personnel while being taken to recover a weapon allegedly linked to another case. An exchange of fire followed, leaving him critically injured. He was later declared dead at a hospital.
He had been arrested in connection with the October 26 shooting at Hotel Bilas Inn in Guwahati, which claimed five lives.
