Ringing Bells CEO Mohit Goel questioned by Enforcement Directorate regarding Freedom 251 price tag: Report

Earlier this week, the ED (Enforcement Directorate) had received complaints against Ringing Bells, the startup which created the apparent cheapest smartphone, Freedom 251. Now, a report by The Quint  has stated that the ED has summoned company CEO Mohit Goel and his statement is currently being recorded at the ED headquarters. This probe is regarding the feasibility of world’s cheapest smartphone which is priced at a mere Rs 251. Last week, a  report  had stated that the Enforcement Directorate would be writing to Ringing Bells’ payment gateway PayU for details on the company’s bank account. The officials reportedly suspected that the company may just run away with the money, in case it is unable to ship the devices on time. Ringing Bells came under the radar when they introduced an Android smartphone which was for sale at Rs 251. Since inception, the company has been surrounded by controversies after experts raised several questions regarding its price. Most people presumed that this was huge scam as the price of the device was ’too good to be true’. However, Ringing Bells has reportedly claimed to have paid back the money it generated from the first 30,000 pre-booking orders on the first day of the sale this month. Mohit Goel had claimed that the money of all 30,000 customers has been refunded and the company will now accept cash on delivery only. Goel had also  claimed  that the company would make Rs 31 profit on each unit sold. Ringing Bells had received 30,000 orders on the first day and the rest of the customers would have be selected on first-come-first-serve basis as the company had received a mammoth over seven crore registrations. Earlier, Ringing Bells President Ashok Chadha had also announced that the Rs 251 (less than $4) Freedom 251 smartphone customers will be required to make payment only when the smartphone is delivered to them.