Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid tribute on Wednesday to Indian farm laborer Satnam Singh, who was allegedly left to die in the Italian countryside by his employer following a freak accident. Meloni called for “harsh” punishment for those responsible after Singh’s “barbaric” death.
Singh, 31, from India’s Punjab state, had been living and working for several years in the Latina province, around 70km from Rome. He was reportedly cutting hay when a machine severed his arm last week.
Instead of receiving help from his employer, Singh was “dumped like a bag of rubbish near his home,” a local trade body claimed.
Although Singh was airlifted to a hospital, doctors were unable to save him. The incident has triggered protests in Italy, with thousands of Indians marching on the streets to demand justice for their countryman.
Meloni raised the matter in the Italian parliament, saying the incident had “deeply saddened” her while condemning Singh’s employer. “A death terrible and inhumane for the atrocious way it occurred, but even more for the disgusting attitude of [Singh’s] employer,” said the prime minister.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the Indian Embassy had stated on X (formerly Twitter) that it was contacting Italian authorities and making efforts to provide consular assistance to Singh’s family.
On Wednesday, the embassy said that New Delhi officials had reached out to their Italian counterparts, urging them to take “prompt action against those responsible.”
Lured by the promise of higher wages, many Indians venture abroad in search of manual jobs. Latina alone is believed to be home to tens of thousands of Indian migrant workers, many of whom hail from the Punjab.
According to the Indian government, over 200,000 Indian immigrants are living in Italy. In all, there were around 13 million Indian nationals abroad in 2023, including “laborers, professionals, and experts, according to New Delhi’s statistics.
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