Freedom 251 Maker Is Back, Seeks Govt Support To Deliver World’s Cheapest Smartphone
Do you guys remember the cheapest Smartphone in the world? Are you the one among 70 million who booked ‘Freedom 251’ phone last year?
The Smartphone was supposed to completely change the scenario of the mobile phone market, but it couldn’t. To recall, Mohit Goel, the man behind the inception of the Freedom 251 phone was arrested last year after he failed to deliver the phone to the customers. Goel was jailed for 6 months but has now been released.
But he firmly believes that he can still fulfill his promise by March or April next year, provided that he gets the support from the Indian government. Goel mourned that the government did not come to his support despite his commitment to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Start-up India’ initiative by providing every single Indian citizen with a smartphone.
He revealed as to why his company, Ringing Bells Pvt. Ltd., was not able to fulfill the promise made to customers. Mohit, MD of Noida-based Company, stated that his company was cheated by two people whom he paid nearly Rs. 3.5 crore for providing handsets but they didn’t deliver.
He also said, “I paid the duo nearly Rs 3.5 crore and, in return, they cheated me. They siphoned off the money and did not deliver any phone. In February this year, some distributors filed a case against me and I was jailed for six months. Now with the fresh arrests, people will come to know why I failed to deliver on my promise.”
Soon after Goel filed the FIR, police on Sunday arrested the two persons, Vikas Sharma, 35 and Jeetu, 40 and are sent to Dasna jail, Noida’s Superintendent of Police, City, Arun Kumar Singh told.
Earlier, Mohit was taken into custody by the police when a Ghaziabad-based distributor Ayam Enterprises filed an FIR against him for committing a fraud of Rs. 16 lakh. Later Mohit was granted bail by the Allahabad HC. However, it is being said that both the parties have settled the matter outside the court.
After getting released, there is only one thing on Mohit’s mind and that is Freedom 251. He went on to say, “The big players today have adopted my model and are now giving smartphones in as low as Rs 1,300, like Karbonn. The Jio model for paying Rs 1,500 in advance for a smartphone is similar. They have deep pockets so they can afford but why don’t people ask them how they are making smartphones so cheap?”
After announcing that it had delivered 5,000 ‘Freedom 251’ smartphones to customers in July last year, Ringing Bells said it would deliver 65,000 more to those who had booked the device in cash on delivery (COD) mode.
Well, Mohit Goel is back with his excuses and demands for government support. It is up to the people whether to believe him or not. What do you think about this? Will he deliver the phones as said? Share your views with us in the comments section below.