Two airport security personnel were hospitalised after a passenger at Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport pulled the trigger on his licensed pistol during a routine screening check, allegedly to show that the weapon was safe. It fired, injuring both of them.
The passenger, Kamlesh Kedarnath Rai from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, was travelling with his wife on Air India Express flight IX1810 to Mumbai. His pistol, a 7.62 mm weapon, had 21 live cartridges at the time of the incident.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation confirmed the incident in a statement. “Whether he knew it (that the gun would fire) or not, only the passenger knows. But I didn’t know if it was loaded or unloaded. She was injured in both legs. When declared weapons arrive, we have to inspect them. The passenger came along with the airline staff. The passenger placed the weapon on the desk for inspection. First, he removed the magazine, checked it, and then saw it was loaded. He pressed the trigger, pointing downwards. Maybe he thought it wouldn’t fire, or maybe he did it out of anger or frustration. The passenger, Kamlesh Kedarnath Rai from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, was travelling with his wife on Air India Express flight IX1810 to Mumbai. “The passenger was escorted to the designated screening area for completion of the mandatory security formalities. During the handling and inspection of the weapon, a round was accidentally discharged.
His pistol, a 7.62 mm weapon, had 21 live cartridges at the time of the incident.
To show that it was unloaded, he pulled the trigger,” she said. The second injured screener, Rohit Raj, told PTI, “The incident happened while we were doing our job as screeners in I-Class. The projectile ricocheted and caused injuries to two screening personnel, Rohit Raj and Suman Kumari,” it said. The ministry added that the incident was “promptly contained” and that airport operations continued without disruption. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is now probing the incident, including “adherence to the prescribed procedures for handling and carriage of licensed weapons at airports”, according to the ministry. Appropriate action will be taken based on the findings, it said.
