FBI agents were at a large Hindu temple in New Jersey May 11 as a new lawsuit claimed it was built by workers from marginalized communities in India who were lured to the U.S. and forced to work long hours for just a few dollars per day.
The lawsuit accuses the leaders of the Hindu organization known as Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, or BAPS, of human trafficking and wage law violations.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed that agents were at the temple on âcourt-authorized law enforcement activity,â but wouldnât elaborate. One of the attorneys who filed the suit said some workers had been removed from the site May 11.
5 ex-workers sue BAPS in US alleging forced labour
By
Arul Louis ( IANS) |
Published on
Wed, May 12 2021 10:18 IST |
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New York, May 12 : Five men who had worked at a Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) temple have filed a case in a federal court alleging that they were made to work as forced labour in the construction and maintenance of the shrine in New Jersey, according to court documents.
The case was filed on Tuesday in a federal court in New Jersey on behalf of the men described in the court papers as Dalits from Rajasthan, who had worked at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville, which is reportedly the largest Hindu temple in the US.