Italian landowner arrested after Indian worker bleeds to death in case that has shocked country

The case of a farm worker who bled to death in Italy has sparked outrage across the country.

Even President Sergio Mattarella has spoken out on the issue, addressing what he called the “cruel” exploitation of workers and the “inhumane” conditions that seasonal farm workers often endure in Italy.

Italian police arrested a farm owner on Tuesday on suspicion of murder after one of his workers, an illegal worker from India, bled to death when part of a farm machine severed his hand.

Landowner abandoned bleeding worker and failed to call ambulance, prosecutors say

Satnam Singh’s death has shocked Italy and sparked protests from unions and farm workers demanding better working conditions, calling for an end to the exploitative “caporalato” system of underpaid migrant labour in Italian agriculture.

Carabinieri from Latina, a farming province south of Rome, arrested farm owner Antonello Lovato after prosecutors changed their initial suspicion of murder to one with “malicious intent,” Latina prosecutors said in a statement.

They did so after medical examiners determined that Singh died from “massive blood loss.” The medical examiner’s report said he “most likely” would have survived had he received prompt medical attention, prosecutors said in a statement.

However, emergency services were apparently not called immediately after Singh’s hand was ripped off when it became stuck in a nylon wrapping machine.

Italian daily Corriere della Sera, citing an arrest warrant signed by judge Giuseppe Molfese, said Lovato was driving a tractor pulling a nylon wrapping machine and then abandoned Singh, who was bleeding, in front of the house.

Italian media, citing witnesses, say Lovato rejected requests from Singh’s wife, who also worked at the farm, to call an ambulance, saying the man was already dead.

State television RAI interviewed a neighbour who eventually called an ambulance. Singh was taken to San Camillo Hospital in Rome, where he was pronounced dead about two days later.

In a statement, Latino prosecutors said Singh’s condition following the accident was so serious that it was obvious he needed immediate medical attention.

“Therefore, it must now be concluded that the decision to withhold necessary care constituted an acceptance of the risk of a fatal event and united the cause that directly led to death,” the statement reads.

An email seeking comment from the law firms of Stefano Perotti and Valerio Righi, listed by RAI as Lovato’s lawyers, did not immediately respond.

RAI quoted Lovato’s father, Renzo, as saying that Singh had been warned not to get too close to the equipment. He said that Singh took the warning “too lightly” and that his attitude “will cost everyone dearly.”