Three persons died and 19 others were injured, six of them seriously, when two liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders exploded at a BMC colony on Arunkumar Vaidya Marg, Sector C, near Filmcity at Goregaon (East) today. The impact of the explosion, which occured at 6.30 am, was so severe that the ceilings of three adjoining rooms collapsed, according to the fire brigade.

The deceased are: Kader Sheikh (30), Abdul Razzak Rauf (31) and Farida Kadir Sheikh (13). The injured are being treated at Bhagwati hospital.

15 Bangladeshis held at Vashi

Fifteen illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were arrested at Sarsola village at Nerul in Navi Mumbai today. They were produced before the Vashi court and booked under the Foreign Nationals Act, 1946 and the Passport Act, 1967.

Advocate fined Rs 50,000 for `PIL'

In a first of its kind, a division bench of Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice S H Kapadia today fined an advocate Rs 50,000 on a public interest litigation (PIL)regarding a builder. The court held that the PIL was motivated and a sheer abuse of the system. The bench also held that the fine was necessary so it could serve as an example.

Of the Rs 50,000 fine, Rs 25,000 is to be paid to the builder, while another Rs 25,000 to the court's legal aid centre.

The advocate, A P Jain, had argued that Sheth builders had used extra FSI in a building at Malad. However, when the bench asked the petitioner where he lived, it was told that he lived at Malabar Hill. Counsel M B Rao, for the civic authorities, submitted that there was nothing illegal in the construction. At this, the bench held that the petitioner had no locus standi.