(CNN) Six Indian men filed suit against a large Hindu temple in New Jersey on Tuesday, alleging that the prominent sect in charge of the facility lured them halfway around the world with promises of well-paying jobs, only to confine them to the premises to work 80-hour weeks of manual labor. The suit was filed the same day that FBI agents were reported on the grounds of the temple, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville, New Jersey. Doreen Holder, a spokesperson with the FBI's Newark field office, confirmed the agents' presence to CNN on Tuesday evening, saying only that the FBI was on scene "on court-authorized law enforcement activity." In addition to the named plaintiffs, the suit -- which was filed in federal court in the District of New Jersey -- seeks recognition as a class with some 200 other Indian nationals who have worked at the temple. The suit alleges the sect and leadership of the New Jersey temple willfully misled Indian nationals of the so-called scheduled caste or Dalits -- considered "untouchables" -- promising them good construction and stoneworking jobs in America.

Source: CNN May 12, 2021 13:27 UTC