An Indian fixer lured workers to Italy. They say he used threats, violence

Tara Chand Tanwar recruited hundreds into exploitative employment, according to an Al Jazeera-Lavialibera investigation.

Ladnun, India and Padua, Italy – When Sandeep migrated from India’s Rajasthan state to Italy in 2009, he was fulfilling a long-held dream of relocating overseas for a better life.

But in late 2015, the 42-year-old graduate suddenly lost his job, putting him at imminent risk of losing his residency permit in Italy.

Desperate for work, Sandeep was relieved when an acquaintance told him about a “friend” who was well-known among the Indian community in Italy for procuring jobs in exchange for a fee, he said.

After forking over a 5,000-euro placement fee, Sandeep accepted a job offer with a logistics cooperative that works with major Italian food retail companies, he said, only to find himself subject to conditions that resembled forced labour.

Sandeep’s supervisors would demand he work 11-12 hours a day, seven days a week, and refused to provide sick leave or an employment contract lasting beyond a few months, he said.