The leaders of a rich and powerful Sikh sect are being accused by their followers of gambling, impaired driving and diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations away from their temple.
The explosive allegations contained in court documents obtained by The Asian Pacific Post are aimed at a preacher and leaders of the Nanaksar Gurdwara-Gursikh Temple in Richmond.
The group also controls and has considerable influence in the operations of sister temples in Edmonton, Toronto, India and the United Kingdom. The allegations have stunned the Sikh community in Canada as the Nanaksar movement is renowned for its apolitical stance and strict adherence to the religion's tenets, including a ban on the consumption of alcohol and that its "holy men" remain celibate.
The court action in Vancouver filed late last month was brought by three members of the Nanaksar Gurdwara-Gursikh Temple society--Madho Singh Pandher, Dharam Singh Manhas and Tehal Singh Kaila.
They have petitioned the court to remove the current directors of the society, stop the preacher's involvement with the temple and appoint an independent auditor to audit the society's financial affairs from 1994 to 2002.
The respondents in the petition are preacher Harnek Singh Grewal and society directors Surjit Singh Badesha, Jarnail Singh Heir, Rajinder Singh Pander, Tarlochan Singh Ranu and Gurdeep Singh Waheed.
The core allegations in support of the petition include:
i) that the directors of the society have wrongfully conferred much or all of the authority for the running of the society and the temple to the preacher, Harnek Singh Grewal;
ii) that Mr. Grewal has told one of the petitioners, Madho Singh Pandher that he (Mr.Grewal) lost C$45,000 of the society's money while gambling in Las Vegas;
iii) that Mr.Grewal has consumed alcohol while at the temple and that he was convicted by the Provincial Court of Alberta on or about May 5, 2000 for impaired driving. Court records show that Mr Grewal claimed to be a labourer at that time;
iv) that the society has purchased a property at 10300 Palmberg Road, Richmond for C$525,000 to construct a 6,500 square foot house and that this is not a proper use of the society's monies. An affidavit in support of the petition also alleges that the house costing about C$500,000 is for the 65-year-old preacher who recently married a 25-year-old woman in India;
v) that the congregation makes financial donations exceeding one million dollars annually but that the directors have failed to make financial statements available to the membership.
The three main petitioners have also listed the name of other society members as willing to provide affidavits to support their claims. They are Sewa Singh Pandher, Bahadur Singh Swatch, Harminder Singh Pandher, Gurtaj Singh Grewal, Jai Singh Khangura, Swarn Singh Deol, Daya Singh Dhaliwal, Jawala Singh Grewal and Rob Dhillon.
The Nanaksar Gurdwara-Gursikh Temple society was incorporated on July 12, 1979 by members of the Lower Mainland's Sikh community.
The move to build a temple was led among others by Maple Ridge blueberry farmer Surjit Singh Badesha.
Indian police have accused Badesha of hiring a gang to kidnap his niece Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu and kill the rickshaw driver whom she had secretly married in her home village in 1999.
Jaswinder, a Maple Ridge beautician married the man despite strenuous objections from her family who felt that the bridegroom was not compatible to their traditional beliefs.
Police in India, who have arrested about a dozen people in connection with the case want to extradite Badesha and his sister and Jaswinder's mother, Malkiat Kaur to face charges in Punjab.
Jaswinder was beaten, strangled and her throat slit after talking on the phone to numbers traced to the Maple Ridge area. Her husband survived the June 2000 attack.
Maple Ridge RCMP have an open file on the case as Indian authorities try to persuade the Canadian government to extradite Badesha and his sister--both of whom have denied any involvement in the incident.
The temple directors are also alleged to be violating the society's constitution and bylaws by buying large tracts of land in Edmonton and Toronto.
The society's records show that it was set up to promote Sikh religion with certain traditions and practices of a trust established in India in 1978 and known as the Shri Nanaksar Ashram.
There is no indication that the society should get involved in the farming industry.
Land title records obtained by The Asian Pacific Post show that the society has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy hundreds of hectares of farm land in Edmonton and a large piece of property in Toronto.
Financial records obtained by The Asian Pacific News Service show that the Nanaksar Gurdwara-Gursikh Temple collected C$1,201,269.54 in donations between July 2000 and June 30, 2001.
The income from farm leases for the same period of time exceeded C$350,000.
The Edmonton branch of the society has assets of C$5,088,090.36 while the total assets of the organization are valued to about C$20 million. The society spent over C$37,000 in travel between July 2000 and June 2001 and had a total expenditure $806,127.83 for the same period of time.
The Nanaksar movement was founded by Nand Singh and took root following his death in 1943.
Nanaksar is near Kaleran village, five kilometres from Jagraon in the Panjab.
Nand Singh was a celibate who practised severe austerities and prolonged meditations.
Nanaksar Gurdwaras do not fly the Khalsa flag. This is symbolic of its apolitical stance, since the emblem on the flag represents the orthodox and much politicised institution of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and its political wing the Akali Dal, which are based in the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Many followers wear white turbans tied horizontally across the forehead, a white long shirt (chola) but without the usual trousers (pajama).
This outfit is evidently symbolic of Nand Singh who is captured in paintings and photographs dressed the same way. The Sikh holy book called the Guru Granth Sahib is treated by Nanaksar devotees with great reverence.
