The maker of the world’s cheapest smartphone- ‘Ringing Bells’ is in trouble again. The company made headlines all across the globe after it announced the launch of ‘Freedom 251’ in February 2016.
Freedom 251 got immensely popular due its dirt-cheap price tag of Rs. 251, and its too good hardware specifications. 70 million people booked the phone, while 30,000 of them paid Rs. 251 in advance for booking the world’s most affordable smartphone.
Things got suspicious when Ringing Bills wasn’t able to manage such a huge demand, resulting into the crash of its website. It is worth noting that Freedom 251 as per the company’s claim packs a 4 inch display, a 1.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm SoC, 1 GB RAM, 1450 mAh battery, and runs on Android Lollipop out-of-the-box. Sounds crazy isn’t it?
Mumbai MP Lodges FIR Against Ringing Bells
In a recent development, Kirit Somaiya, BJP MP from Mumbai North-East has lodged an FIR against the top officials of the company with the Noida Police.
The case is filed under Section 420 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code), which relates to cheating and dishonesty in delivery of property, leading to punishments as fine and/or serving jail terms up to 7 years.
IBNLive reports that the FIR was lodged at Noida Phase 3 police station on Tuesday against company promoter- Mohit Goel and the president- Ashok Chaddha. The FIR mentions that Ringing Bells raised money by misguiding the public via social media and by using misleading ads.
In his complaint, the MP mentions that it is a ‘ponzi bogus company scam’’ and requested the Noida police to freeze the company’s account for protecting the buyers. The MP also claimed that he had gone through all the papers of the company and termed its ambitious project as a ‘scam’.
Somaiya also blamed the company for using misleading advertisements and fooling the customers by using words like ‘Make In India’, ‘Digital India’, and ‘Skill India’. Somaiya also said that the company was abusing the Tricolour by using it for misguiding the buyers.
On the other hand, Mohit Goel said that the company is ready to cooperate with the government for any inquiry about its business and will also deliver the Freedom 251 smartphone to its customers.
“We remain committed to cooperate with any government agency that may require to inquire our organisation for any reason or suspicion. I do maintain that we will deliver the most affordable quality products to our customers through our various range of smart phones including the Freedom 251,” explained Mohit Goel, Director at Ringing Bells Pvt. Ltd.
IBNLive also reports that the sources have asked the company officials to show them their manufacturing plants of Freedom 251 so that the police can visit them. The police have also asked the company to submit the necessary documents.
In the meanwhile, the MP has also approached various government departments like TRAI, SEBI, RBI, telecom ministry, consumer ministry, corporate ministry, finance ministry, and various state governments for checking his various concerns about the company.
Recently we had reported that Ringing Bells is refunding the money, and now an MP has lodged an FIR against the company! ‘Ringing Bells’ is now ringing a lot of bells in my mind as I still haven’t come across any reasonable explanation about its earth-shattering price tag.
I did try to buy the phone thank god i was unsuccessful