Injured Indian Worker In Italy Dies As Employer Packs His Severed Arm In Fruit Crate, Abandons Him On Road

A 31-year-old Indian labourer, Satnam Singh, died in Italy after his employers allegedly abandoned him outside his home with his severed arm in a fruit crate.

An Indian labourer died in Italy on Wednesday allegedly after apathetic and exploitative treatment meted out by his employers in Latina, the second-largest city of the European nation. Italy's Labour Minister Marina Calderone acknowledged the incident, calling it barbaric.

The victim has been identified as 31-year-old Satnam Singh.

According to a report by news agency Reuters, Satnam Singh's arm was severed while working with some agricultural equipment at a greenhouse on Monday. What was appalling in the incident is that instead of rushing him to a hospital, his employers abandoned him outside his home in Borgo Santa Maria and placed his severed arm in a fruit crate.

Satnam had gone to Italy with his wife just 3 years ago. His wife informed the police, after which he was taken to San Camillo Forlanini Hospital in Rome by an air ambulance, where he died due to severe injuries. Some media reports said Satnam hailed from Moga in Punjab.

Notably, the incident comes barely a week after PM Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni held talks to strengthen bilateral relations between India and Italy. Calling the Cabinet meeting a "tragedy", PM Meloni held a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. Reuters, citing her office's statement, quoted Meloni: "These are inhumane acts that do not belong to the Italian people, and I hope that this barbarity will be punished harshly."

Italian Employer Blames Victim For Accident 

Italy's Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida said on Thursday that Giordano Meloni's government is against all forms of labourer exploitation. The Italian farm where Satnam worked is now under the scanner.

According to Reuters, the farm's owner Renzo Lovato said that they had warned Singh not to go near the machine involved in the accident and blamed his "carelessness" for the incident. Lovato's son is now being probed for leaving a severely injured Satnam Singh outside his home. An investigation is also being conducted for negligence in providing assistance and violation of safety rules.

Initial investigations revealed that Satnam was operating a plastic roller wrapping machine, which was attached to a tractor at the time of the accident.