Founder of Rs 251 smartphone co sent to judicial custody

GHAZIABAD:

Mohit Goel

,

Ringing Bells

founder, was sent to overnight judicial custody by a local court in Ghaziabad on Friday, a day after he was

arrested

by the police on charges of cheating and forgery. As Friday was a public holiday on account of Maha Shivratri, Goel was presented in the court of a remand magistrate.

Following arguments in the case, additional CJM Abhimanyu Singh postponed the case for further hearing to Saturday. The hearing is scheduled to commence in the court of the additional CJM III.

On Thursday, Goel had been arrested by the Ghaziabad police after an FIR was registered against him on the basis of a complaint lodged by a Nehru Nagar-based firm, Ayam Enterprises. Goel was brought to the court around 5pm on Friday by the Ghaziabad police.

Goel’s counsel has argued that the charge of forgery invoked against him in the FIR was baseless and fabricated.

Defence counsel D M Bhalla challenged the very basis of the complaint. “The complaint, on the basis of which the FIR has been registered against Goel, does not contain any instance where Goel is said to have committed forgery. Neither is there any documentary evidence with the police or the complainant that would establish that Goel had forged any particular document,” Bhall said.

“The complainant had already reached a settlement with Goel on January 3 in which it was promised that the money that was due to be paid to him would be duly refunded. This fact is not contained in the FIR,” Bhalla said.

According to the complaint lodged by Ayam Enterprises, Goel’s firm, Noida-based Ringing Bells, had signed a business deal to provide it distributorship of smartphones priced at Rs 251.