Man Who Moved To Italy From Punjab 4 Months Ago Found Dead, Family Seeks Help

A 24-year-old man from Punjab was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Italy last week, with his family demanding an investigation and help from the Indian government to bring back his body.

Twinkle Randhawa had moved to Italy nearly four months ago in pursuit of a better future - for which his financially weak parents had taken a loan. He lived in Dubai earlier for a year.

When Twinkle's parents were not able to get in touch with him, they called the other men living with him in Italy - who kept telling them different versions of his whereabouts, they said.

"When asked about Twinkle, the men living with him kept making excuses - sometimes saying he hadn't woken up, sometimes saying the police had taken her, sometimes giving different information. Twinkle went to Italy four months ago. The family's financial situation is dire. His father manages to support the family by driving a car," Twinkle's relative, Sarban Singh, said.

The man's father, Jagir Singh - who works as a driver in Punjab, said Twinkle seemed to be "perfectly fine" when they spoke two days ago.

"I have two sons; Twinkle was the youngest. He lived in Dubai for a year, then went to Italy four months ago. I last spoke to him the day before yesterday, and he was perfectly fine. After that, we hadn't heard from him for a few days. We called his friend, Gill, who told us that Twinkle had fainted, following which he was given lemonade, and then was left lying in the park," he said.

Since his friends were not around, the police had taken him into their custody, he said.

"We don't know what really happened there. We demand that the Indian government manage to get our son's body back to India so we can cremate him according to Punjabi customs. This news devastated our entire family," Jagir Singh added.

Twinkle's mother recalled her last call with Twinkle two days ago, saying he seemed "fine".

"The next day, when I couldn't reach him, I called his flatmate. He told me that Twinkle had gone out with some boys. I thought he might have gone to look for work. When I called again after some time, he said he would arrange a conversation and then disconnected the call. Upon repeated questioning, he told me that Twinkle had fainted and Twinkle's father had said on the phone that he had suffered a heart attack," his mother, Baljeet Kaur, recalled.

Twinkle wanted to bring his mother to Italy in two years - after he had settled, she said.

"I have two sons, and this was my youngest and most beloved son. He used to tell me, "Mom, once I settle here, I will call you to me, and after two years, I will definitely come back." I had no idea this would happen to him. I request the government to return my son to me under any circumstances," she added.