Battle brewing between granthi and NZ Sikh body

A brewing battle between a granthi and a gurdwara has made it into the at least one New Zealand newspaper. There are claims and counter-claims from both sides, including accusations of being grossly underpaid and defrauding.

In a lengthy report published yesterday (5 MArch 2019), Stuff reported that an Indian preacher has accused his former employer, the Sikh Sangat NZ Trust, of exploitation and wrongful dismissal.

“He claimed he was grossly underpaid, made to live in cell-like conditions at a Rotorua temple, denied annual leave to visit his wife in India, then fired over a falsified affair with a married templegoer. Last week Kultar Singh, 34, filed a police complaint against the trust’s founder and secretary alleging they had made threats on his life.

“Sikh Sangat NZ Trust secretary Sukhpreet Singh has denied all allegations. He in turn filed a police complaint against Kultar Singh claiming the priest had defrauded the trust and stolen more than $20,000 of cash donations from the temple,” according to the report.

It added that Kultar, who came to New Zealand via another organisation in 2015 to work as a granthi, had transferred in 2016 to a student visa and embarked on an English language course.

The Sikh Sangat NZ Trust then offered Kultar Singh a job at its gurdwara in Rotorua starting in August 2017.

You can read the story, ‘Sikh priest claims he was exploited and slandered by Kiwi boss‘, here