India, Oct. 16 -- A special CBI court has turned down the bail application of Sandeep Mistry, an alleged close associate of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, in the Rs.6,498-crore Punjab National bank fraud case. The plea was rejected on grounds that Mistry had allegedly destroyed electronic evidence, operated dummy companies in Dubai and Hong Kong, and handled 4 million UAE dirhams allegedly meant for Modi.

On Thursday, Special Judge S K Karhale held that Mistry's prolonged absence from India, his alleged involvement in the offence and the risk of evidence tampering weighed against his release. Mistry was arrested at the Mumbai airport on September 29 after being detained in the UAE and brought back to India.

The court relied on prosecu...