Dhannipur Mosque: IICF chairman files complaint over fake donation account

A blueprint of the proposed mosque in Dhannipur.

LUCKNOW/AYODHYA: The chairman of the Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) filed a complaint with the Gautampalli police station in Lucknow against unknown persons for opening a fake bank account in the name of the trust and circulating it on social media in an attempt to accept donations for the construction of a mosque in Ayodhya’s Dhannipur village.

Notably, around five acres of land has been allocated to the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board for the construction of a mosque in Dhannipur village, under the Sohawal tehsil of Ayodhya, in accordance with the directives of the Supreme Court in the Ram Janambhoomi and Babri Mosque title dispute order. Subsequently, the Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) trust was established to oversee the construction work.

The fraud came to light after some locals in Ayodhya discovered websites and video clips requesting donations for the mosque and providing bank account details. When individuals willing to donate contacted the office-bearers of the trust to confirm, it was revealed that fraudsters were conducting fraudulent fundraising campaigns in the name of the mosque.

In the application, Zufar Ahmad Farooqi, chairman of the IICF trust along with the trust secretary Athar Hussain said that they received a WhatsApp message showing an image of the proposed mosque in Dhannipur – Mohammed Bin Abdullah Mosque and demanding donations to a fake bank account opened in the Central Bank of India.

Speaking to HT, Zufar Farooqui said that complaints against two bank accounts, one with a government bank and the other with a private bank, as well as against related websites, had been filed with the cyber cell at the Gautampalli police station in Lucknow.

Meanwhile, Athar Hussain said that the message soliciting donations for mosque construction had been circulating on various social media platforms. He clarified that the trust did not have an account in the Central Bank of India and that all promotional material for our projects bears the registered logo of the IICF trust, recognised by the Government of India.

Hussain further said that the trust operated four accounts under the name Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation: one in ICICI Bank on Hewett Road, Lucknow; another in HDFC Bank on Vibhuti Khand, Lucknow; a third in Kotak Mahindra Bank branch in Janakipuram, Lucknow; and the fourth in Bank of Baroda branch in Bandra Kurla, Mumbai, all designated for mosque construction purposes.

The chairman requested the police to take cognizance of this fraudulent practice and track down the operator of fake bank account as well as act against them for misusing the image and name of the proposed mosque to dupe people. He also demanded to block the Central Bank of India account opened fraudulently in the name of the trust and the mosque as well.

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