Mohit Goel, who had caught the attention of everyone in 2017 after launching the Freedom 251 smartphone for Rs 251, was arrested by police from Greater Noida for being part of a dry fruits business fraud of Rs 45 lakh. This is not the first time he has been arrested.
Goel after his ‘Freedom 251’ smartphone scam was running a company called Dubai Dry Fruits and Spices Hub from on office complex in Sector 61, Noida. The police have said they received over 40 written complaints of fraud from various traders across Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan among others against Goel. Apart from this, another 35 cases of cheating and other crimes are pending against him all over the country.
As per a Times of India report, one Vikas Mittal from Indirapuram filed an FIR against Goel and five others alleging fraud of Rs 41 lakh. The complainant also alleged that Goel threatened and tried to run over him by a car. Based on the complaint Goel was arrested by the police.
He has been arrested under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 384 (extortion), 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach), 506 (Intimidation), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
Earlier, he was arrested for fraud when could not deliver to consumers the Freedom 251 smartphones after they had purchased from his company Ringing Bells Private Limited. In 2018, he was held by police allegedly in an extortion case. This is the third time he has had a brush with the law.
The very first time he got the media attention was when he announced the launch of the world’s cheapest smartphone at Rs 251 under the Freedom 251 scheme. It received over 30,000 bookings and most of the buyers never got the smartphone nor the money. Company officials at that time had claimed they refunded all customers who had pre-booked the smartphone.
Goel got caught in the smartphone scam after government officials discovered the product did not have the Bureau of Indian standard (BIS) certification and he got into further trouble when its customer service provider Cyfuture also accused them of fraud and non-payment of dues.
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