The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Jalgaon corporator and Shiv Sena functionary Lalit Kolhe, also a former mayor of Jalgaon, in connection with a fake call centre allegedly operated from his farmhouse. The court noted that the prosecution failed to produce material directly linking his bank account to those of the co-accused or the illegal operation.
A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Atul Chandurkar observed that the investigation in the case has been completed and the chargesheet filed. The court directed Kolhe's release on bail on furnishing suitable bail bonds and sureties, subject to terms and conditions to be fixed by the trial court. The apex court also directed that Kolhe must comply with all conditions imposed and regularly attend the trial unless exempted.
When TOI contacted Kolhe's lawyer Adv Sagar Chitre, he said, "We will complete the bail formalities on Monday, and he is likely to be released the same day."
Kolhe had been in judicial custody since his arrest following a police raid on Sept 28, 2025. His bail pleas were earlier rejected by a district court and the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court, prompting him to approach the Supreme Court. Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Nitin Ganapure confirmed that Kolhe secured bail from the apex court.
The case pertains to a fake call centre busted by the Jalgaon police in Sept 2025 to allegedly target foreign nationals. Eight people, including Kolhe, were arrested. A special police team led by additional SP Ashok Nakhate raided Kolhe's farmhouse, located about 4km from Jalgaon city, where they found a call centre-like setup with 24 cubicles.
According to the police, the accused allegedly impersonated agents of various companies while calling foreign nationals, falsely claiming issues with their accounts and inducing them to transfer money after sharing OTPs.
Despite being incarcerated, Kolhe contested the Jalgaon Municipal Corporation elections on an Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena ticket and won. His son, Piyush Kolhe, and mother, Sindu Kolhe, also won from different wards. Lalit Kolhe secured 6,157 votes, defeating his closest rival, independent candidate Sunil Patil, who polled 1,944 votes.
