BJP MP calls Freedom 251 phone booking ‘bogus company scam’

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirit Somaiya on Friday called the sale of ‘Freedom 251’ – dubbed by many as the world’s cheapest phone – a ‘ponzi bogus company scam’.

Already mired in controversy over its similarity to Apple iPhone design and appearance and now the Indian government keeping a close watch on its four-day booking offer that started from 6am on Thursday, the Noida-based startup Ringing Bells Pvt Ltd claimed to have received 30,000 confirmed orders and over six lakh hits per second on its website on the first day. (Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirit Somaiya on Friday called the sale of 'Freedom 251' - dubbed by many as the world's cheapest phone - a 'ponzi bogus company scam'.

"This is a huge scam. That is why I went through all the papers of the company. The government has informed the Uttar Pradesh government to check the bonafide of the promoter. This is a ponzi bogus company scam," Somaiya told ANI.

The BJP MP said he has approached the telecom ministry, telecom regulator, consumer ministry, market regulator Sebi, corporate ministry, finance ministry and Reserve Bank of India to check various concerns he has over the company offering mobile phone for ₹251.

Read: Bad run continues for Freedom 251, booking website down for 2nd day

Noida-based company Ringing Bells on Thursday opened bookings for the phone for ₹251 and said the delivery of all handsets will be completed by June 30.

Already mired in controversy over its similarity to Apple iPhone design and appearance and now the Indian government keeping a close watch on its four-day booking offer that started from 6am on Thursday, the Noida-based startup Ringing Bells Pvt Ltd claimed to have received 30,000 confirmed orders and over six lakh hits per second on its website on the first day.

But hours later, the firm stopped taking orders after its servers crashed owing to a huge rush to book the device online on www.freedom251.com.

The 3G handset, Freedom 251, features a 4-inch display, Qualcomm 1.3-GHz quad-core processor and 1 GB RAM, according to details shared by the company.

The BJP MP had earlier written a letter to IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, questioning the abnormalities in the company.

Read: Fake In India: Makers of Freedom 251 justify copying Apple's designs

In his letter, Somaiya asked whether the objective and aim behind the offer had been studied.

He also questioned the background, the financial status, the owners of Ringing Bells Pvt Ltd, saying that he was "far from convinced" with the response given by Ashok Chadha, President of Ringing Bells. Chadha, in the defence of his company and product, had said that cost was brought down due to local assembling and online marketing.