Lorry owner injured in LPG cylinder explosion

Prasanna Kumar, a lorry owner, sustained minor injuries when an LPG cylinder stored at his shed-cum-residence at Papareddy Palya exploded at around 1 am on Saturday.

According to the police, the explosion led to a fire and two fire tenders fought the blaze for nearly half an hour.

Awoken by the sound of the explosion, neighbours rushed to Kumar’s shed and shifted him to a nearby hospital.

Three houses were partially damaged due to the impact of the blast, Jnanabharathi police said.

Blue kerosene seized

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) officers raided an automobile store at Marappanapalya in Yeshwantpur on Friday evening and arrested the owner for selling blue kerosene meant for distribution among the poor through the public distribution system.

The arrested Gopal, 60, a resident of Yeshwantpur, was allegedly selling blue kerosene to autorickshaw drivers and others for commercial use. Police also seized two barrels of kerosene worth Rs 15,000. Gopal bought the oil from PDS beneficiaries for Rs 55 a litre and sold it to customers for Rs 70 a litre, police said.

Prostitution racket busted

The CCB police swooped down on a house in DJ Halli recently and arrested two youths involved in a prostitution racket. They also rescued a girl from Mumbai who was forced into flesh trade.The arrested have been identified as Srinivasa, 24, and Raja, 22. Deepak, the kingpin, is absconding and a manhunt has been launched to nab him, police said.