A shocking fire in Surat’s Shyam Sangini Textile Market has taken an unexpected turn after the Surat Crime Branch arrested a former accountant for allegedly starting the fire over a dispute over unpaid salary. Police said the September 9 fire destroyed textile goods worth about ₹24 crore, and four traders were among those who were in the market in the Saroli area.
The accused was identified by police as 33-year-old Vinod Savle from Dhule in Maharashtra. Savle was an accountant at a textile firm in the market after joining the company in April 2026, investigators said. His monthly salary was around ₹30,000. He left the job and told investigators he was humiliated and criticized for the work during his stay, police said.
According to the Crime Branch investigation, the alleged salary dispute turned into an arson incident. Police said Savle wanted to “teach his employer a lesson” and apparently planned the fire after his attempts to recover the unpaid amount failed.
Investigators said the accused purchased petrol from a fuel station before going to the textile market. The petrol was said to have been in a plastic container or bag. CCTV footage from the market became a key part of the investigation, as investigators were tracking the movements of the suspected person before and after the fire.
Police allege that Savle waited until the market was quiet and then went to the area outside his former employer’s shop and poured petrol on textile parcels kept outside the premises and lit them on fire before he fled. The flames spread to nearby shops, turning what was alleged to have been a small act against one employer into a major fire affecting multiple traders.
Gujarat: In Surat, employee set fire to goods worth 24 crore with petrol after owner refused to pay 10 thousand salary
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) September 22, 2026
◆ During questioning by Surat Crime Branch, the accused revealed that he carried out this incident to take revenge on two owners over unpaid salary of 10…
The fire damaged goods of four textile traders, and its initial losses were estimated to be around ₹24 crore. According to the police complaint and the reports, Hanumanprasad Zawar lost about ₹6 crore, Abhishek Soni around ₹2 crore, Anurag Jalan about ₹12 crore and Hariprasad Zawar around ₹4 crore. The total value of the affected textile goods was thus about ₹24 crore.
The fire also caused damage beyond the textile stock, and other areas were also damaged. Electrical wiring, walls, ceilings, lifts and other infrastructure were affected; the building’s electrical wiring, walls, ceilings, lifts and other infrastructure were damaged, the newspaper said. Water in the firefighting effort also caused damage to goods and buildings. The blaze took many hours to get under control, it was reported.
The investigation took the police beyond Surat after the suspect allegedly left the city. Savle switched off his mobile phone after he found out from news reports and social media that investigators were looking for him, the Crime Branch said. He traveled to Rajasthan and visited the Khatu Shyam temple before moving to Ayodhya and other locations in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Investigators eventually found him after he returned to Surat. He was arrested by the Crime Branch after he returned to the city and then taken to the police station where the case was taken up for further legal action. CCTV footage and human intelligence were reportedly instrumental in his identification and discovery.
The case has attracted attention because the gap between what is alleged to be missing and the damage is large. A dispute over ₹10,000 has been estimated to have cost traders around ₹24 crore, including people who were not actually involved in the original employment dispute.
The allegations against Savle remain under investigation and judicial process. Police are still exploring the reasons for the fire, the exact sequence of events, and the full extent of property damage. The incident has also raised questions about fire safety and security arrangements at large textile markets where densely stored fabric and packaging materials can quickly spread.
The Surat incident is a stark reminder of how an unresolved workplace dispute can escalate into a serious criminal case with consequences far beyond the people involved. For investigators, the challenge now is to establish the full facts of the alleged arson and determine the legal liability for the vast amounts of damage sustained by the fire.
