Another suspect, another escape attempt. The investigation into illegal labor recruitment at the American consulate construction sites in Milan is expanding even further. There is another name among those responsible, in addition to Caddell Construction company and its legal representative. Aji Appukuttan, born in India, 52 years old, was organizing to take a bus or another means of transport two days ago to escape. The Labor Protection Unit of the Milan Carabinieri stopped him. He was responsible for managing the personnel. On the construction site, he allegedly also pressured workers, «intimidating them not to speak or report what was happening on the site to outsiders».
Read more Companies learning team building by working with inmates
The man’s arrest, ordered by prosecutor Paolo Storari, following last Sunday’s arrest of Ulkas Demir (the manager stopped at Orio al Serio while taking a flight to Istanbul), became necessary because, as stated in the provision, from the testimonies collected by the Carabinieri among the workers, «he wanted to escape from Italy, but he understood that the plane is dangerous. So he was organizing himself, knowing that the Indian workers had spoken about him to you.
Here are some reported testimonies. «From what I saw with my own eyes on many occasions, he treats Indian workers like slaves, as seen in movies about slaves. When I saw those scenes where he mistreated workers, shouting and sending them away, I asked some English-speaking workers what he had said, and they replied that he had threatened them, saying he would fire them and send them back to India».
Read more Trump falls asleep again in the Oval Office. The video is viral
The 41-year-old Egyptian was interviewed by investigators and reported the pattern of harassment suffered by the “workers” and laborers at the 200-million-dollar mega construction site in Piazzale Accursio in Milan. He said he didn’t know all the “names” of the workers involved (with peaks of 500 people on site) but «everyone I spoke to told me they were afraid of him».
Aji allegedly maintained «contacts with the Indian company that brings them to Italy, and from what they told me, they pay money to come», about 500,000 rupees (5-6 thousand euros) to obtain a work permit. According to the reconstruction, part of that money would be diverted and given to the «operational foreman». The man in Italy «scares them» and «when some of them protested or for any problem between Caddell and the workers» he would take care of resolving the issues. The witness provided investigators with further information on the exploitation system behind the urban regeneration project of 40,000 square meters in Piazzale Accursio, which could lead to judicial developments in the coming weeks.
Read more Solidarity stores, growing Italian realities increasingly oriented towards the community hub model
