$4 Indian smartphone is not happening

Freedom phone boss arrested

When the Freedom 251 smartphone was touted with a $ 4 price tag there were a large number of people who said it will never happen.

Made by Ringing Bells, the Freedom phone was going out without any carrier subsidy, it had a dismal “what the hell an you expect for $ 4 spec” It features an 4-core 1.3 Ghz Processor, with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory, and runs an Android Lollipop 5.1 distribution complete with civilian and government applications for Indian citizens.

The deal did happen with the phone starting to go out, but now it seems Ringing Bell’s founder Mohit Goel has been arrested on allegations of fraud, after a handset dealer accused the company of not refunding him for an unfulfilled order.

The founder was arrested after a dealer said he had paid three million Indian rupees for an order of handsets but had received only a fraction of the order. He added that some of the phones received were defective, according to the coppers.

The dealer said he received only 1.4 million rupees in new phones and cash. When he asked Ringing Bells for a refund, the dealer said Mohit Goel and another executive at the mobile phone maker threatened to kill him and his family, as you do.

We suspect that Ringing Bells will be ringing a few alarm bells in India over the coming months as those who subsidised it have to ask a few questions.