Forced labor allegations at N.J. temple are ‘unfathomable,’ Murphy says
Updated May 13, 2021;
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Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday expressed disdain for the allegations that were made public this week regarding forced labor at a sprawling Hindu temple in New Jersey that involved workers lured from India who worked nearly 90 hours a week for $1.20 an hour.
A federal class action lawsuit was filed Tuesday on behalf of around 200 workers who were allegedly lured from marginalized communities in India using religious visas to work “very dangerous” jobs to help construct a world-class temple in Robbinsville for Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, a Hindu sect known as BAPS.
Hindu temple in N.J. accused of exploiting workers it lured from India, lawsuit alleges
Updated May 12, 2021;
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A lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday alleges the builders of a New Jersey Hindu temple considered to be one the largest in the United States lured workers from India, worked them nearly 90 hours per week and paid them around $1.20 per hour.
One worker, the lawsuit claims, died from forced labor.
The allegations were made against Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, a Hindu sect known as BAPS, and the leaders who run the Robbinsville temple and its construction. The temple opened in 2014 and is constructed entirely of Italian marble that was sculpted in India and completed on site off Route 130 in Robbinsville.
Faced with an intellectual disability, Smith became enslaved by Edwards from 2009 to 2014. Edwards moved the man into an apartment attached to the restaurant and “forced him to work more than 100 hours per week without pay.”
“Edwards effected this forced labor by taking advantage of Jack’s intellectual disability and keeping Jack isolated from his family, threatening to have him arrested, and verbally abusing him,” Niemeyer wrote.
On one occasion, Edwards dipped metal tongs into hot grease when Smith didn’t bring fried chicken to the buffet as fast as Edwards wanted, according to a court document. Smith said he was whipped with a belt, punched with fists and beat with kitchen pans if he made mistakes.
12-Year-Old Girl Kidnapped, Forced To Have Sex With Several Men Over 3 Months
KEY POINTS
He forced her to have sexual intercourse with at least six men a day
The accused was arrested and charged with human trafficking, rape, statutory rape
A man, who locked up a 12-year-old girl in an apartment and forced her to have sex with several men, has been sentenced to three life imprisonment terms in Nigeria.
In September 2016, the girl was enjoying an outing with her friends in a park when she met a woman who asked the victim to accompany her to an apartment. Upon arrival, the woman handed over the girl to the accused, Augustine Obono, Guardian Nigeria reported.