Director of firm that promised Rs 251-phone detained for ‘fraud’

Ghaziabad, February 23

Mohit Goel, the Director of Noida-based company Ringing Bells that had announced world’s “cheapest” smartphone “Freedom251” at Rs 251, was today detained on allegations of fraud, police said. The detention came after owner of Ghaziabad-based Ayam Enterprises had filed an FIR yesterday alleging Ringing Bells “defrauded” it of Rs 16 lakh. Ghaziabad Deputy SP Manish Mishra said Goel had been detained for interrogation in the matter.

In the FIR, Ayam Enterprises claimed it was persuaded by Goel and others from Ringing Bells to take up the distributorship of the Freedom251 phones in November 2015.

“We paid Rs 30 lakh to Ringing Bells through RTGS on different occasions. But it delivered us products worth Rs 13 lakh only. Upon follow-up, we got products and money totalling Rs 14 lakh,” it claimed in the FIR.

The owners of Ayam Enterprises claimed they were threatened with life if they asked for the rest Rs 16 lakh “again and again”.

Ringing Bells had begun the sale of Freedom 251 handsets via its website in February last year. It landed in a controversy after it was alleged that the project was a ponzi scheme. The firm had claimed around 30,000 customers had booked the phone despite some glitches, while seven crore people had registered for it. — PTI