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Hundreds of workers confined and forced to work at New Jersey Hindu temple: lawsuit

Many of the workers were Dalits, considered to be the lowest caste of people in Indian society, formerly categorized as untouchable

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More than 200 Indian nationals from disadvantaged communities were brought to New Jersey to work at a sprawling Hindu temple under conditions that violate U.S. labour and human trafficking laws, a lawsuit filed on Tuesday alleges.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court New Jersey by six former workers at the temple, says they were forced to work 87 hours a week, getting paid $450 a month, or about $1.20 an hour. Federal agents raided the compound in Robbinsville, New Jersey, on the day the suit was filed.

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The plaintiffs say employers at Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) confiscated their passports, held them under constant surveillance and threatened to dock their pay for speaking to visitors. One of them alleges he was docked nearly 30 per cent of his monthly pay after being “observed without a helmet on.”

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The workers were lured under false pretence by the temple’s management and their associates, who they say promised them stonework and construction jobs in the United States. Instead, workers claim they were trafficked to New Jersey using R-1 religious visas and kept as manual laborers since as far back as 2012. The lawsuit cites violation of state labour laws, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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The Swaminarayan temple began construction in 2010 and opened in 2014, according to the BAPS website. The main temple is made entirely of imported marble, it claims, adding, approximately 4.7 million man hours were “required by craftsmen and volunteers to complete the Mandir (temple).” A visitor centre had recently been completed and multi-year construction work was ongoing, they write.

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The temple is also described as “the epitome of volunteerism and serves as a symbol to show the value of sacrificing one’s time and efforts towards bettering the community.”

When the plaintiffs spoke to the U.S. embassy for their visas, they were coached to say they were skilled volunteer artisans who would be carving and painting stones for the temple’s construction, the suit says, though the job required lifting, cutting and preparing the stones with chemicals, removing garbage and performing road work and other tasks.

Many of the workers were Dalits, considered to be the lowest caste of people in Indian society, formerly categorized as untouchable.

Upon arrival, they were forced to “live and work” in a fenced compound guarded by security in BAPS uniform, according to the complaint. It adds they “were not allowed to leave unaccompanied by overseers affiliated” with BAPS. Cameras placed around the temple monitored the workers, who were kept in “crowded trailers” that were hidden on the 162-acre property.

A siren at 6:30 a.m. summoned the labourers for their 13-hour shift, which was carried out even in rain or snow, with a single day off “every 30 to 40 days,” says the suit. The men feared “physical restraint and serious harm,” if they tried to leave, it says. One R-1 worker allegedly died while on the job.

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“These workers came to work in New Jersey to earn wages and help their families,” said Patricia Kakalec, one of the attorneys who filed the case.

“They were taken advantage of and cheated out of millions of dollars in wages. They deserve justice.”

A BAPS representative issued a statement saying they learned of the accusations Tuesday morning and are taking them “very seriously and are thoroughly reviewing the issues raised.”

On its website, the Hindu sect describes itself as a “spiritual, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to improving society through individual growth by fostering the Hindu ideals of faith, unity, and selfless service”

The lawsuit seeks compensation for damages and workers’ unpaid wages.

“These individuals have suffered greatly,” said Swati Sawant, an attorney for former workers at the temple. “Financially as a result of the wage theft, physically as a result of the grueling work they were forced to undertake, and mentally as a result of being forced to stay within the temple compound for months, and for many, years.”

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