MAKHAN SINGH MAUJI, a Sikh celebrant, has been sentenced to more than 24 years in prison for sexually assaulting three girls between 1983 and 1987.
Cambridge Crown Court heard that Mauji, 71, targeted girls aged eight to 14 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, including at a gurdwara.
A travelling granthi, Mauji conducted ceremonies and read the Guru Granth Sahib, Sikhism’s holy scripture, across gurdwaras.
Prosecutors explained that Mauji abused his position as a spiritual leader to "invade" his victims' lives. He exploited their trust at the gurdwaras and in their homes, treating them as "targets for his sexual appetite."
Mauji, who had connections to gurdwaras in Northampton, Bedford, and Milton Keynes, was charged in 2023. Initially denying 11 counts of indecent assault, one count of attempted rape, and two counts of gross indecency with a child, he changed his plea four days into the trial.
Judge Andrew Hurst described Mauji’s actions as a “significant breach of trust” that left “deep emotional scars” on his victims.
Alongside the prison sentence, Mauji was issued a sexual harm prevention order and placed on the sex offenders register for life.
Detective Constable Elizabeth McGrath from Hertfordshire’s non-recent child abuse investigation team commended the victims, stating: “Without them, Mauji would never have answered for his crimes. This sentence hopefully paves the way for some closure for our victims.”
A representative of the Hitchin Sikh community commented: “We commend the judge for passing a sentence to match the severity of the crimes that this opportunistic predator admitted to committing whilst in a position of trust as the local granthi some 40 years ago."
English questioning rose from 20 per cent to 31 per cent, and racist jokes from 36 per cent to 41 per cent
Workplace violence against Black and ethnic minority employees rises to 26 per cent
Highlights
The Trades Union Congress surveyed 1,044 Black, Asian and ethnic minority employees. The results show clear increases in racist behaviour between 2020 and 2026.
Workers having their English questioned rose from 20 per cent to 31 per cent. Those hearing racist jokes went up from 36 per cent to 41 per cent.
Racist comments made to workers or around them increased from 31 per cent to 36 per cent.
Violence and threats
The most worrying finding involves physical threats and violence, which jumped from 19 per cent to 26 per cent.
Racist posts shared on workplace social media grew from 22 per cent to 28 per cent. Racist materials being passed around increased from 19 per cent to 25 per cent.
Beyond direct racism, many workers face unfair treatment. Nearly half (45 per cent) said they get harder or less popular jobs.
Over two in five (43 per cent) receive unfair criticism. The same number (41 per cent) stay stuck on temporary contracts.
Work conditions got worse too. Those not getting enough hours rose from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.
Workers denied overtime went from 30 per cent to 37 per cent. Being kept on short-term contracts increased from 33 per cent to 41 per cent.
Direct managers cause most unfair treatment (35 per cent), followed by other managers (19 per cent).
Bullying mainly comes from direct managers (30 per cent) and colleagues (28 per cent). Racist behaviour mostly comes from colleagues (33 per cent) and customers or clients (22 per cent).
Paul Nowak, TUC general secretary, said: "Black and ethnic minority workers are facing appalling and growing levels of racism and unfair treatment in Britain. This racism is plaguing the labour market – and it's getting worse."
The TUC is calling for urgent government action to tackle the problem. The union wants ring-fenced funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to enforce workplace protections.
It is pushing for mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for companies with over 50 employees.
The TUC says the Employment Rights Act, which makes employers responsible for protecting workers from harassment by customers and clients, will be an important step forward.
The union also wants employers to treat racial harassment as a health and safety issue and monitor ethnicity data across recruitment, pay and promotions.