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Remember Ringing Bells? The Noida-based company that shot to instant fame after announcing a Rs 251 smartphone earlier this year. Well, what happened later is a different story altogether. The company got embroiled in a spate of controversies, ranging from allegations of being a ponzy scheme to failing to meet the deadlines. While the Freedom 251 smartphone never reached most of the people who registered, the company in the meanwhile expanded its portfolio by launching low-cost TVs and smartphones. Now, a new report claims that the company has shut down, and opened a new one with the name of MDM Electronics Private Limited. Also Read - World's cheapest smartphone 'Freedom 251' maker Mohit Goel arrested by Delhi police

Also Read - Two arrested for cheating Ringing Bell of Rs 3 crore

TeleAnalysis reports that the board of directors of the new company include Mohit Goel, who is also MD of Ringing Bells, and Shashank Goel and Ashok Chaddha, both associated with Ringing Bells as well. The report further says that the company MDM Electronics Pvt Ltd is fairly new, and was set up on December 7 along with its registered office in New Delhi. Right now there s no word on what the new company plans to sell, but the name indicates it will also be foraying into consumer electronics, and may offer feature phones, smartphones and TVs. Interestingly, Ringing Bells website has been shut down too. BGR India has reached out to Ringing Bells for comments.

The latest development comes months after Ringing Bells had announced selling its products through e-commerce platform Amazon India. The products that are on offer include Freedom LED TV series, smart and feature mobile handsets and power banks. It might be possible that Ringing Bells may have decided to stop taking orders on its website, and focus on selling stuff via n e-commerce website.

While the spotlight on Ringing Bells may have moved, the company was nonetheless in news for another controversy. Ringing Bells has been summoned by a Delhi court in a Rs 2 crore cheque bounce case. The company has been accused of issuing a cheque in favor of AIPL, the complainant, towards discharge of their liability. But the cheque bounced due to insufficient funds.

Ringing Bells had initially promised to deliver nearly 200,000 units of Freedom 251. Later, the company failed to do so, and a lot of people who registered for the handset didn t get the unit. Back in July, the company said it had delivered 5,000 units, and promised to deliver 65,000 units to those who had booked the device in Cash on Delivery mode. Since then, Ringing Bells hasn t shared any new figures. DON T MISS: Ringing Bells Freedom 251: Hands-on with the world s cheapest smartphone

Ringing Bells MD Mohit Goel had earlier said that the company was looking for the government help to actually realize the idea of such low-cost smartphone. The government can make the phone under our Freedom brand from some other vendor. I have no objection to it. To make such phone for every Indian citizen, the government needs to allocate funds from its Digital India initiative, Goel added. READ: Where has Freedom 251 , world s cheapest smartphone, disappeared?