For Rs 10,000, Surat employee sets boss's shop on fire, causes Rs 24 crore loss

A Surat textile market fire initially thought to be an accident was later found to be alleged arson over a Rs 10,000 payment dispute. Police arrested accountant Vinod Pandit Sawale, accusing him of targeting his employer's shop, with the blaze gutting 14 shops and destroying textiles worth around Rs 24 crore.Revenge over Rs 10,000: Employee torches Surat market, Rs 24 crore lossA dispute over a delayed payment of Rs 10,000 spiralled into a massive fire after an accountant allegedly took matters into his own hands to settle the score, gutting 14 shops and destroying textiles worth around Rs 24 crore at Surat's Shyam Sangini Textile Market. After days of investigation, police said the September 9 blaze in the Saroli area was not an accident, but a planned act of arson allegedly carried out by the employee against his employer.The Surat Crime Branch has arrested 33-year-old Vinod Pandit Sawale in connection with the fire. Police said Sawale had worked as an accountant at a shop on the market's sixth floor and was allegedly angry with the owner over around Rs 10,000 that he claimed was pending.According to the police, Sawale had joined the shop in April 2026 on a salary of around Rs 30,000. A dispute later developed between him and the shop owner over his work, following which he left the job. Police said the alleged dispute over the unpaid amount left him angry and prompted him to plan the arson.Investigators also said this was not his first attempt. Sawale had allegedly tried to set the shop on fire earlier, but the attempt failed. He then allegedly returned with a second plan -- this time using around Rs 150 worth of petrol. HOW THE FIRE WAS ALLEGEDLY SETCCTV footage showed a man with his face covered by a white handkerchief entering the market with a bag slung over his shoulder. Police said the man was later identified as Sawale.According to the police, Sawale bought around Rs 150 worth of petrol from a petrol pump in Devadh village. He carried the fuel in a plastic bag and a bottle and reached the market at around 9 pm on September 8. He waited near a staircase on the fifth floor until around 12.30 am, when the market had become deserted. Police said he then sprinkled petrol on textile boxes and parcels kept outside the shop and set them on fire before fleeing.The flames spread rapidly, engulfing several shops. Around 14 shops were gutted and textiles and other goods worth crores of rupees were destroyed. Firefighters battled the blaze for around 38 hours, according to the police account.1,500 CCTV CAMERAS HELPED CRACK CASEAfter the fire, Saroli Police registered a case against an unidentified person and began investigating. The Crime Branch examined footage from more than 1,500 CCTV cameras installed under Surat Police's 'Vishwas Project' Phase 2.Investigators tracked the suspect's movements and analysed his entry and exit routes through backward and forward tracking. The CCTV trail eventually led police to Sawale.Police said that after a video of the fire went viral on social media and he learnt that an FIR had been registered, Sawale switched off his mobile phone and fled Surat with his wife and child.He first travelled to Rajasthan's Khatu Shyam temple and later went to Ayodhya, police said. When he eventually returned to Surat, investigators received information about his whereabouts. A Crime Branch team deployed for Ganpati security arrangements arrested him near Flower Garden in Dindoli.Sawale was subsequently handed over to Saroli Police Station.Rs 10,000 DISPUTE, RS 24 CRORE LOSSSurat Additional Police Commissioner Karanraj Vaghela said the fire had caused an estimated loss of around Rs 25 crore, while the police investigation put the value of the destroyed textiles at around Rs 24 crore.Police are questioning Sawale to establish the details of the alleged conspiracy and how the petrol was procured. Investigators are also examining the role of the petrol pump operator who allegedly sold him the fuel.The accused was also taken back to Shyam Sangini Textile Market for reconstruction of the sequence of events. During the exercise, he was seen with his hands folded.What began, according to the police investigation, as an alleged dispute over Rs 10,000 had ended with a fire that destroyed around Rs 24 crore worth of textiles.- EndsPublished By: Sayan GangulyPublished On: Sep 22, 2026 22:50 IST