Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh State Sunni Central Waqf Board (UPSSCWB) President Zufar Ahmad Farooqui announced on Wednesday the formation of a Trust for construction of a mosque on a five-acre land in Ayodhya.

The board president said that he will be the chief trustee and the chairman of the Trust.

"We made the Trust named Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation. It will oversee the construction of a mosque, Indo-Islamic research center, library, and hospital in the five-acre land allotted to the board in Ayodhya's Dhannipur village," Farooqui told PTI.

An official spokesperson of the Board said, "The Trust will have a maximum of 15 trustees, with the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board being its founder trustee."

Farooqui said the Trust will have 15 members, of which names of nine have been declared.

They are the founder -- UPSSCWB through its chief executive officer, chief trustee/president -- Zufar Ahmad Farooqui; trustee -- Adnan Farrukh Shah, Gorakhpur; Secretary/trustee -- Athar Husain, Lucknow; treasurer/trustee -- Faiz Aftab, Meerut; member/trustees -- Mohammad Junaid Siddiqui; Sheikh Sauduzzaman, Banda; Mohammad Rashid, Lucknow, and Imran Ahmad, Lucknow.

"The Trust will co-opt the remaining six trustees. The secretary of the Trust will also be its official spokesperson," he said.

The Supreme Court had in November last year paved the way for the construction of a Ram Temple by a Trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot an alternative 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a "prominent" place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh.

The state government allotted a five-acre land in Dhannipur village in Sohaval Tehsil of Ayodhya.

Notably, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya either on August 3 or 5, both auspicious dates. The prime minister is expected to visit the holy town on August 5 to lay the foundation of the temple.

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New Delhi, Jan 26 (PTI): The Congress alleged Saturday its Rithala candidate Sushant Mishra was assaulted by a poll official, and demanded a thorough probe into the incident and action against him.

Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed Sushant Mishra was assaulted by an Election Commission of India official on Saturday.

He alleged the official also attempted to prevent Mishra from undertaking a Padayatra for which the Delhi Police had already given permission.

In a post on X, Ramesh said, "@sushant_m has been actively taking up violations of the Model Code of Conduct by other candidates in the ongoing Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections. This unprecedented and illegal act of partisanship by an official of a Constitutional body like the ECI can only be seen as a desperate attempt by the AAP and BJP to stem the surge of support for his candidacy and that of the Congress Party in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections"

Ramesh said the Congress remains undaunted and will continue to raise the voice of people and protect the sanctity of elections.

"To preserve the integrity of the electoral process, the Indian National Congress demands a full inquiry into the incident and immediate corrective action against the concerned official," the Congress leader demanded.

Mishra has also separately written to the returning office and Chief Electoral officer and the Election Commission about the incident, demanding action against the accused.