Founder of Ringing Bells, company that promised Freedom 251 smartphone at Rs 251, quits

Ringing Bells made headlines because of the unbelievable price of the smartphones it was offering. It was rolling out Freedom 251 for just Rs 251. But now founder of Ringing Bells Mohit Goel, the boy from Shamli, has quit.

Goel was the managing director of the company ans has started another company, MDM Electronics. His wife Dhaarna, who was a director in Ringing Bells, has also quit.

Goel’s brother Anmol is now in charge of Ringing Bells, the company confirmed in a release, adding he would take care of its liabilities.

However, no clear indications regarding the way forward were given and that left dealers who have taken advances to distribute the phone, named Freedom 251, anxious.

Mohit and Dhaarna have given no explanation for leaving.

The office of Ringing Bells in Noida's Sector 62 has been locked for the past two weeks.

After Freedom 251 was announced, seven crore people registered for it and 30,000 people made advance payments. Facing immense pressure, but without a manufacturing facility for the phones, the company reportedly refunded the advance and tweaked the plan to make it a cash-on-delivery offer. Dealerships were opened all over the country with advances to sell the phone.

Prem Prakash, who had paid cash in advance to procure the phones and distribute them, said he had not received any communication about the next step. Prakash had a Freedom 251dealership in Noida's Bhangel area.

"I have shut down my shop as I did not know how to answer people who gave us money . We had given money to Ringing Bells. We did not go to police as they gave us a cheque dated December 31, 2016. Now, they have gone missing," Prakash told ET.

Devdutta Malhotra, a Ringing Bells dealer in Ghaziabad, said Goel still owes him Rs 16 lakh. "Initially he owed me Rs 25 lakh, then he returned some money and said he would come back and repay everything. But now we hear that the company has been dissolved and a new company is being formed by the founders of Ringing Bells. I'm still waiting for my Rs 16 lakh," he told ET.