JAMMU, March 6 -- In a major setback to the accused in a multi-crore financial fraud case, a local court here has rejected the bail applications of five officials of HDFC Bank's Shopian branch, who were arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch Jammu and Kashmir.

Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Shopian dismissed the bail pleas of the accused, who are currently lodged in judicial custody at Central Jail Srinagar. They were arrested following a detailed investigation into large-scale embezzlement and manipulation of bank records, officials said.

The accused have been identified as Adil Ayoub Ganai of Shopian, Irfan Majeed Zargar of Bonigam, Mubashir Hussain Sheikh of Kulgam, Zaid Manzoor of Anantnag, and Javaid Ahmad Bh...