Dimapur, November 4: Serious questions have emerged over the procurement of the .32 bore pistol allegedly used by Ghanakanta Gogoi, the prime accused in the October 26 Guwahati Villas Inn shooting that claimed five lives.
Gogoi was killed in police firing in Sivasagar in the early hours of November 4, adding a new dimension to the investigation surrounding the firearm allegedly used in the killings.
The trail of the weapon reportedly leads to Nagaland. Gogoi had allegedly obtained a retainership arrangement linked to an arms licence in 2015, while documents accessed by Nagaland News Network show that the Kiphire district administration issued him a Special Purchase Permit on October 8, 2024, authorising him to purchase a .32 pistol or revolver and ammunition.
He subsequently allegedly purchased a .32 bore pistol and 40 rounds of ammunition from Swasti Gun House in Dimapur on October 16, 2024. The gun house management maintained that the documents produced by Gogoi were legitimate at the time of the sale.
With Gogoi now dead, questions remain over the legality of the original retainership arrangement, the verification process behind the Special Purchase Permit issued in Kiphire, and whether authorities will investigate the complete documentary trail surrounding the acquisition and sale of the firearm allegedly used in the deadly Guwahati shooting.
