(RNS) — The Department of Justice has dropped its investigation of a New Jersey Hindu temple, the temple’s leaders announced Thursday, more than four years after law-enforcement agents raided the complex following accusations that it was being built with forced labor.
The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, the largest Hindu temple in the Western Hemisphere, was still under construction at the time. It was completed in 2023 with the help of more than 12,500 people from North America and other countries over 12 years. Most had no construction background, and temple officials claimed they considered theirs to be spiritual service.
“The United States Government’s decision to end this investigation sends a clear and powerful message in support of what our organization has maintained from the outset: that BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham — a place of peace, service, and devotion — was built through the love, dedication, and volunteer service of thousands of devotees from all walks of life,” read the statement.
“As our scriptures have guided us for thousands of years,” it added, ‘Satyameva Jayate’ or ‘truth will always prevail.’”
In May 2021, New Jersey police and federal agents descended upon the 126-acre campus after six Indian workers filed a civil complaint that they were forced into performing heavy construction work for long days with less …