US: NJ Hindu Temple Faces Forced Labor Accusations Published by GulteDesk May 12, 2021
Controversy surrounded the BAPS temple of Robbinsville of New Jersey for allegedly using forced labor from India. Federal law enforcement agents accused a prominent Hindu sect of luring workers from India and paying them the equivalent of about $1.20 an hour for their labor.
A lawsuit has been filed on Tuesday that Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, accusing the same of exploiting possibly hundreds of low-caste men in the yearslong construction project that started in 2014 and is still going on.
The workers are said to be promised jobs helping the temple construction in rural Robbinsville New Jersey with standard work hours, the wage claim filed in US District court said. The majority of the workers are said to be Dalits.