Varanasi, August 16: An accidental weapon discharge inside the security screening enclosure of Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport resulted in minor injuries to two airport screening personnel, prompting a high-level inquiry by civil aviation authorities. The passenger involved, Kamlesh Kedarnath Rai, had declared the licensed 7.62 mm handgun at the check-in counter as required by standard protocols prior to his scheduled flight to Mumbai.
Airport Director Puneet Gupta confirmed that the situation was swiftly contained by on-site security personnel without causing panic or delays across the terminal.
“At approximately 9.30 am, a passenger travelling to Mumbai on flight IX-1810 with his wife declared a weapon intended to be carried on the aircraft,” Airport Director Puneet Gupta stated. “During the inspection of the weapon, a round was accidentally fired, injuring two AAICLAS screeners.”
Investigators reported that the bullet struck a hard surface before ricocheting, resulting in a leg injury for a female security screener and a thumb injury for her colleague standing nearby. Both injured personnel were promptly transferred to New Laxmi Trauma Centre in Varanasi, where attending doctors described their condition as stable.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security is currently auditing procedural compliance to determine how the live round was fired during the hand-over and inspection phase. District police authorities affirmed that legal formalities are underway while the declared weapon and ammunition remain impounded for ballistic examination.
