AI Express flyer's pistol 'accidentally' goes off at Varanasi airport; 2 injured

LUCKNOW: Two ad-hoc cargo screening employees, including a woman, were injured after a passenger's licensed pistol accidentally discharged during a weapons check at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi on Sunday morning.The incident occurred around 9.30 am when 55-year-old Kamlesh Rai, a resident of Azamgarh, arrived at the airport with his wife to board Air India Express flight IX-1810 to Mumbai. Rai was carrying a licensed pistol, which he had declared to airport authorities before the flight.Varanasi Airport director Puneet Gupta told TOI that the weapon accidentally discharged while it was being inspected, injuring two screeners working with AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Ltd (AAICLAS).The injured employees were identified as Suman Rani and Rohit Raj. Rani sustained an injury to her thigh, while Raj suffered an injury to his finger.