Former Winnipeg Sikh priest faces theft charge and civil lawsuit alleging he stole donation money

Vera-Lynn Kubinec · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 26, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

A Sikh spiritual enactment successful Winnipeg claims that its erstwhile caput clergyman stole hundreds of thousands of dollars successful donation wealth from radical who attended the Sikh temple to practise their religion.

Gurdwara Kalgidhar Darbar Inc., which operates the temple successful northwest Winnipeg, has filed a suit alleging that Sukhwinder Singh, its erstwhile priest, had astir $420,000 successful stolen currency that came from donations to the spiritual organization, referred to arsenic Kalgidhar.

Winnipeg Police Service Const. Claude Chancy says Sukhwinder Singh was charged successful November 2024 with theft implicit $5,000 and 2 counts of possession of spot obtained by crime over $5,000. The charges are inactive earlier the court.

In its suit filed March 17 successful Court of King's Bench, Kalgidhar seeks to retrieve the stolen wealth from Singh, who served arsenic caput clergyman of the temple for astir 13 years, from 2011 to 2024, erstwhile his employment was terminated. 

The adjacent proceeding day is April 1. Singh has not filed a connection of defence.

As caput priest, Singh's duties included handling currency donations from congregants, which could person been dropped disconnected astatine the temple oregon made for services specified arsenic weddings.

Security video

Kalgidhar is simply a federally registered foundation managed by a unpaid committee of directors and operates the temple connected King Edward Street successful northwest Winnipeg for the advancement of the Sikh religion, the suit says.

Last September, a unpaid observed Singh handling "large quantities of currency astatine the temple successful a suspicious manner," the connection of assertion says.

"A consequent reappraisal of information camera footage revealed the suspect removing currency from donation boxes astatine the temple," the papers says.

"The video footage depicts the suspect opening the donation box, dumping the currency onto a sheet, and past bundling it up."

Kalgidhar reported what happened to police, who arrested Singh.

Further probe recovered astir $420,000 successful currency successful Singh's surviving quarters astatine the temple. 

Wrapped successful sheets

The wealth consisted chiefly of $100, $50 and $20 bills, the tribunal papers says, and was "concealed successful integrative boxes wrapped successful bedsheets." The wealth was seized by police.

"In summation to the stolen funds, which full $420,000, Kalgidhar suspects and alleges that the suspect has misappropriated arsenic overmuch arsenic astir $1.5-$2 cardinal successful this manner," the suit says.

It alleges Singh utilized donation funds for his idiosyncratic benefit, including to bargain a location successful Winnipeg, to get assets successful India and to nonstop wealth to contacts successful India.

The tribunal papers says that Singh was calved successful India and lived determination anterior to moving with Kalgidhar successful Winnipeg, and that Kalgidhar enactment important effort and disbursal into sponsoring him for migration purposes. 

Singh gained imperishable nonmigratory presumption successful Canada astir 2021, the papers says, and nonrecreational and exertion fees associated with Singh's migration record outgo astir $20,000. 

Once successful his relation arsenic caput priest, Singh "was expected to transportation connected a elemental lifestyle, afloat devoted to his duties," according to Sikh custom, the papers says. He was paid astir $12,000 annually. 

Kalgidhar alleges that successful 2019 Singh purchased a location successful Winnipeg for $332,000 and helium owns the spot without immoderate mortgage.

Given Singh's humble wage and his obligations to the temple successful employment arsenic caput priest, "the Manitoba spot could not person been purchased with the defendant's idiosyncratic funds, and it was purchased utilizing misappropriated donation funds," the connection of assertion says. 

The suit seeks a tribunal bid that the spot beryllium held successful spot for the plaintiff and that Singh beryllium prevented from selling oregon transferring the spot until the tribunal has made a determination connected the case. 

Patrick Rykes, Kalgidhar's lawyer, declined to remark connected the case.