Two Indian gangmasters have been arrested on the charge of enslaving 33 farm labourers from India in Italy's Verona province.
This comes weeks after an Indian farmer, Satnam Singh, died after his arm got chopped off by a strawberry wrapping machine on the farm.
Medical help had come late for Satnam Singh, who was bleeding profusely, and he died.
Satnam Singh was just one of the thousands of Indians working illegally on farms in Italy, especially in the Pontine Marshes area.
Children held up colourful posters, reading "Justice for Satnam Singh" as the procession of Indian workers snaked through Latina, reports AFP.
Two Indian gangmasters have been arrested on the charge of enslaving 33 farm labourers from India in Italy's Verona province. This comes weeks after an Indian farmer, Satnam Singh, died after his arm got chopped off by a strawberry wrapping machine on the farm. Singh, who was working illegally on the farm, was dumped on the road by his employers.
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The Finance police have seized assets worth 475,000 euros of these two Indians, who own two agricultural sector companies with no workers on the books. They have allegedly been avoiding taxes as well, according to a report by news agency ANSA.
The two were arrested on July 13 and are being investigated for enslavement and labour exploitation, the agency report said.
These modern forms of slavery were condemned when the farmer's employer "dumped" him like a "bag of rubbish near his home" along with his severed hand.
Medical help had come late for Satnam Singh, who was bleeding profusely, and he died.
Satnam Singh was just one of the thousands of Indians working illegally on farms in Italy, especially in the Pontine Marshes area. It was found that these workers are underpaid and exploited.
This incident led to protests in Italy on June 25 which asked for an end to slavery after Singh's death, AFP reported.
Singh's death highlighted the brutal exploitation of undocumented migrants in Italy. According to Ministry of External Affairs data, in May 2024, there are over 2 lakh overseas Indians in Italy. The number of documented Indians in Italy is the highest in continental Europe, just after Germany.
"He was thrown out like a dog. There is exploitation every day, we suffer it every day, it must end now," Gurmukh Singh, head of the Indian community in the Lazio region of central Italy, was quoted by AFP as saying. "We come here to work, not to die," he added.
Latina, where Singh was working, is infamous for exploiting migrant workers.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned Singh’s death as inhumane and barbaric.
“These are inhumane acts that do not belong to the Italian people, and I hope that this barbarism will be harshly punished,” Meloni said.
Children held up colourful posters, reading "Justice for Satnam Singh" as the procession of Indian workers snaked through Latina, reports AFP.
The lack of labour contracts deters employers from getting medical help for undocumented migrant workers, because they could get into legal troubles.
"My boss said he couldn't take me to hospital because I didn't have a contract," Parambar Singh, whose eye was injured at work, told AFP.
"Satnam died one day, I die every day. Because I too am a labour victim," said the 33-year-old Indian. He has been struggling to work since the accident 10 months ago.
