India, May 4 -- The Esplanade Metropolitan Magistrate Court has rejected the bail application of Javed Azam, the younger brother of former BJP Maharashtra secretary Hyder Azam, in connection with the Rs.122-crore New India Cooperative Bank embezzlement case.

Azam has been accused of receiving Rs.18 crore from Hitesh Mehta, the bank's former general manager (accounts), who allegedly siphoned off Rs.122 crore from the bank's cash reserves. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police has named multiple accused in the case, which came to light during a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) audit on February 12 at the bank's Prabhadevi headquarters.

During the audit, officials discovered the massive shortfall in the bank's vault. Mehta, who ...