Electric cab-hailing firm BluSmart, services of which remained suspended for the second day on Thursday, assured its customers that it will initiate a refund of their wallet balance within 90 days.
In an email sent to some users, seen by FE, the company acknowledged that it has closed the bookings on its app.
“While we strive to be back soon, we will initiate a refund within 90 days if services do not resume before that,” the email said.
The users had to pre-load their wallets to get a ride on BluSmart. After the completion of the trip, the money used to be automatically deducted from the wallet. This eliminated the need for the customers to make payments to the drivers.
The company had around 8,500 taxis running across three cities — Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. As of Wednesday, the platform worked with around 10,000 drivers, who now face a danger to their livelihood.
On Wednesday evening, the company stopped offering rides to customers at several locations in the three cities where it was operational. It also cancelled some scheduled rides.
The company did not respond to FE’s queries till the time of going to press.
This comes just a few days after the Securities and Exchange Board (Sebi) banned brothers Anmol and Puneet Jaggi from the stock market and ordered a forensic investigation into their listed renewable energy company, Gensol.
Gensol Engineering‘s promoters treated the company as a proprietary firm, diverting corporate funds to buy a high-end apartment in The Camellias, DLF Gurgaon, splurging on a luxury golf set, paying off credit cards, and transferring money to close relatives.
According to Sebi, the company secured a total of Rs 977.75 crore in loans from IREDA and PFC, of which Rs 663.89 crore was meant specifically for the purchase of 6,400 electric vehicles (EVs). EVs were procured by the company and subsequently leased to BluSmart, a related party.
Gensol admitted that it had procured only 4,704 EVs till date — far less than 6,400 for which it had received funding.
The company said it would fully cooperate with the forensic audit and that the Jaggi brothers are no longer participating in the management of the company as per Sebi’s instructions.
On Thursday, Gensol’s independent director, Arun Menon, also resigned from his post.