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| Photo Credit: K. Pichumani

Two Indian nationals have been arrested for allegedly enslaving 33 farm labourers, all from India, in Italy’s Verona Province, according to a media report, weeks after the country was shocked by the tragic death of a Sikh farm worker who bled to death.

Finance police also seized assets worth 4,75,000 euros from the suspects, who own two agricultural sector companies with no employees on the books and are allegedly total tax evaders, ANSA news agency reported on July 13.

The two alleged gangmasters were arrested on July 13 and are under investigation for crimes, including enslavement and labour exploitation, the Italian news agency said.

The issue of modern forms of slavery in Italy recently came to the fore of media attention following the case of 31-year-old Sikh farm labourer Satnam Singh, who bled to death after being abandoned by his employer after a strawberry wrapping machine severed his arm in Lazio, near Rome, last month.

Singh, who was an Indian national, died due to “copious bleeding”, the ANSA news agency earlier reported.

On June 26, India asked Italy to take prompt action against those responsible for Singh’s death.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said last month that Singh, one of thousands of Indian immigrants who work the fields in the country, was the victim of “inhuman acts”.

“These are inhumane acts that do not belong to the Italian people. I hope that this barbarity will be punished harshly,” she said following a Cabinet meeting.

Gangmastering and the often violent exploitation of migrant farm labourers is a chronic problem in Italy, especially in the south of the country.

Latina hosts thousands of immigrant labourers, many of them Sikhs, working picking fruit and vegetables for the local ‘agro-mafia’, according to Italian media reports.

Workplace accident insurance agency INAIL said recently that fatal accidents in Italy had risen by four to 268 in the first four months of this year.

There were about 100 last year, it said.

New Delhi:

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday condemned the negligence in the treatment of Satnam Singh, an Indian worker who died in north Italy, stating that his employer, responsible for his medical care, has been arrested.

MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal called for humane treatment of workers, adding that all possible assistance was being provided to the family of Satnam Singh.

“His employer who was supposed to provide him medical care has been arrested and the investigation goes on. We condemn such treatment. We call for the human treatment of workers. We are providing all possible assistance to his family,” said Jaiswal during a weekly briefing.

India has also raised this issue with Italy and has called for prompt action against those responsible for his demise.

The secretary (Consular Passport and Visa Division and Overseas Indian Affairs) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Muktesh Pardeshi raised the matter with Luigi Maria Vignali, Director General for Migratory Policies and Italians Abroad, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Muktesh Pardeshi further said that the Indian Embassy in Italy is in contact with the family of Satnam Singh for consular help and transportation of body to India.

“@SecretaryCPVOIA Muktesh Pardeshi conveyed to @LuigiVignali Italian DG our deep concern about death of Satnam Singh & called for prompt action against those responsible. Embassy is in contact with family of Satnam Singh for consular help &transportation of mortal remains @MEAIndia,” the Indian embassy in Italy posted on X on June 26.

Indian national Satnam Singh lost his life after being abandoned on the street following an accident, according to the Flai CGIL trade union.

The accident, which resulted in the severing of his arm, happened while he was working at the farm.

According to the Flai CGIL trade union, instead of receiving help from the employer, “Singh was dumped like a bag of rubbish near his home.”

Earlier last week, the Embassy said that it is in contact with local authorities and that efforts are being made to contact the family and provide consular assistance.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Representational image only.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

A 31-year-old Indian casual worker in Italy has died tragically after he was dumped on the road without medical assistance by his employer after his arm was severed by heavy farm machinery.

Satnam Singh was injured by heavy machinery while working in a vegetable field in Lazio, near Rome, on June 17. The Embassy of India in Rome posted on X that it was aware of the very unfortunate demise of an Indian national in Latina, Italy.

“We are in contact with local authorities. Efforts are under way to contact the family and provide consular assistance,” it wrote without giving more information. Singh reportedly hailed from Punjab.

According to Italian media, Singh’s employer, Antonello Lovato, loaded him and his wife into a van and left them by the side of the road near their home.

“We heard his wife’s screams who kept calling for help, then we saw a man who was holding him in his arms and who carried him into the house,” ANSA news agency quoted Ilario Pepe, the owner of the house, as saying. “We thought he was helping him, but then he ran away.

“I ran after him,” said Pepe, “and I saw him get into a van and I asked him what had happened and why he hadn’t taken him to hospital. “He replied ‘he’s not on the books as a regular employee. The severed arm was placed in a fruit box.”

Medical help did not reach Singh until an hour and a half later. He was airlifted to a hospital in Rome but died on Wednesday. Lovato is now under investigation for criminal negligence and manslaughter.

Lovato’s father told Italian media: “My son had told [Singh] not to go near the machinery, but he didn’t listen. It was sheer carelessness, unfortunately”, said Renzo Lovato, speaking to the TG1 first channel news.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called Singh’s death an “inhuman act” and a “barbarism” that must be “harshly punished”. Italy’s Minister of Labour, Marina Calderone, said the death of Singh had been an “act of barbarity”.

Opposition 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Giuseppe Conte on Thursday urged Ms. Meloni to act to stamp out brutal gangmastering.

“You lose your arm while you’re working in the fields for four euros an hour. You’re not immediately treated. They put you in a van and they dump you like rubbish outside your home,” Mr. Conte wrote on X.

“Beside you, a strawberry basket in which your severed arm is left. You bleed out and die. It sounds like the story of a slave centuries ago. We can’t close our eyes, we can’t think about making profits while cancelling the dignity of work and the last shreds of humanity. If people ignore these atrocities, they will stop defending Italy and its values,” he said.

“We are ready to do our bit in Parliament against these barbarities, which must be rooted out of the fields all over Italy,” he added. Gangmastering and the often violent exploitation of migrant farm labourers is a chronic problem in Italy, especially in the south.

Latina hosts thousands of immigrant labourers, many of them Sikhs, working picking fruit and vegetables for the local ‘agro-mafia’.

Singh died in a Rome hospital on June 19 after being airlifted there when he was eventually found. The owner of the fruit and vegetable picking firm, and Satnam’s employer, Antonello Lovato, may face gangmastering and manslaughter charges, Ansa quoted Latina police as saying.