The Surat Crime Branch has arrested a man for allegedly setting fire to a textile market in Surat on September 9, causing an estimated loss of around Rs 24 crore, The Indian Express reported.
The accused has been identified as Vinod Salve, a resident of Maharashtra’s Dhule district. Police said Salve worked as an accountant at a shop in the Shyam Sangini Textile Market in Surat before leaving the job about a month ago.
According to police, Salve allegedly set the market on fire to take revenge against his former employer after a dispute over unpaid salary, as per the report.
Accused wanted to ‘teach lesson’ to employer
During questioning, Salve allegedly told police that he was unhappy with his seniors and the shop owner, who he claimed used to harass him.
According to The Indian Express report, police said Salve had left his job after working there since April 2026 with a monthly salary of Rs 30,000. He allegedly claimed that his pending salary of Rs 10,000 was not cleared despite repeated visits and phone calls to the firm.
According to officials, Salve then planned to set fire to textile parcels kept outside shops in order to cause financial damage to his former employer.
CCTV footage helped police identify accused
The fire broke out on the sixth floor of the six-storey Shyam Sangini Textile Market in the early hours of September 9.
The fire department received a call around 12.50 am, following which several teams rushed to the spot. The blaze took nearly 14 hours to control, damaging all shops on the sixth floor and affecting some shops on the fifth floor.
Police said CCTV footage played a key role in identifying Salve. The footage allegedly showed a masked man entering the building after midnight, sprinkling a substance on textile parcels kept in the passage and setting them on fire, as per The Indian Express report.
The suspect was seen inside the building for around four minutes, police said.
Bought petrol before fire, travelled to Rajasthan and Ayodhya
Surat Crime Branch officials sacaid Salve allegedly purchased petrol worth Rs 150 in a bottle from a fuel station in Dindoli a day before the incident.
According to Additional Commissioner of Police Karanraj Vaghela, Salve entered the market after shops had closed, reached the sixth floor and allegedly poured petrol on saree and dress material parcels before setting them on fire.
After the incident, police said Salve escaped on his bike and travelled to Rajasthan and Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh instead of returning to his hometown, fearing arrest.
He later returned to Surat, where Crime Branch officials detained him from the Dindoli area on Monday based on a tip-off.
The accused was handed over to the Saroli police station for further investigation.
Police are now probing the case further and verifying all details related to the alleged motive and the extent of damage caused by the fire.