[Disclaimer: The Sohonet India Case is being presented on this site for enabling a public debate on an issue which is of concern to all responsible Netizens. Naavi.com does not have any preconceived notions on the issue and has not independently investigated the case. View points of both sides to the controversy are being presented. We are however concerned with the impact of such a controversy on the credibility of the Web based business model and its adverse effect of genuine entrepreneurs]

The controversy surrounding Sohonet India, a Chennai based company engaged in the services of providing a home based earning opportunity to public has taken an interesting twist. For some time there have been a host of complaints about the Company mainly expressed over a public forum at http://forum.onecenter.com/mtforum/

After the matter was published in Naavi.com and Naavi.org, there has been an increased media interest in the episode. There is also a report of a PIL having been filed against the company in Bangalore. The Company sent one interim reply to the complaint published in Naavi.com and has promised to send a more detailed reply which is awaited.

In a fresh allegation against the Company, it has now been stated by some members of the public that the Company has posted around 60 messages yesterday on the same forum, all praising the Company and its services and claiming that it is not a fraud.

It is intriguing that such opinions supportive of the Company are coming up only now even though the controversy has been brewing in the mtforum for a long time. Judging by the sudden spurt of the postings,  the possibility of it being an attempt to dilute the impact of earlier postings in the same forum  cannot be ruled out.

One of the members of the forum has written a special letter to the undersigned which is worth taking note of.

Extracts reproduced from the letter are as follows: .

"

Dear Sir,

It seems a desperate attempt by Sohonet to eyewash the public when it decided to plant around 60 fake messages one after the other, praising itself. None of the persons described have a tel. no and address. If they are happy with Sohonet then where is the need to hide their identity? This proves that the whole episode has been cooked at Soho headquarters, Mylapore, in a blind attempt to save its ill grace.

We got a person’s identity from one message, which could prove the identity of the computer technician who has helped the crime syndicate in its efforts to loot the public.

If action can be taken at your end, please do not spare any efforts. We are thinking of opening a separate forum in aid of Sohonet victims, which could filter attempts by Sohonet to invade into others territories.

"

After all,  if a Judge is presented with the fact that  there were 'x' number postings against the company and 'y' number of postings for the Company, it can be argued that the postings at the forum as an evidence of public opinion or prima-facie fraud are untenable.

From the developments that have come up so far, there is no doubt that a serious controversy exists. It is also necessary to appreciate that "Public Interest" is inherent in the case whether the Company is guilty or not.

If the Company is guilty,  people (Estimated to be around 15000), who have become members of the Company's scheme based on it's promises and found the scheme blatantly unviable, need to be compensated.

If the Company is not guilty, the public must be suitably informed so that they do not lose confidence on all "Home Business Entrepreneurs".

However, the Case has already become complicated since there are a large number of allegations from individuals scattered allover India and none of the victims are from Chennai which is the place where the head office of Sohonet India is located.

These people have offered to provide evidence to prove that the work given to them for execution was not genuine and was specially created for being presented as a genuine work. Obviously the Company would deny the allegations and may present its own evidence in this regard including the list of satisfied customers.

Under the circumstances, unless a thorough investigation is undertaken on an all India basis, this controversy is unlikely to be resolved.

Will the TN Police take up the challenge since this incident if proved right could brand Chennai as the "Home of the Home-based IT Business Frauds"?.. which every Chennaiite would dislike to live with?

Or should it be taken up by CBI since there is an all India ramification for the controversy?

Or Will the incident be brushed under the carpet since it concerns the interest of individuals who admittedly entered into a business proposition without properly assessing the risk factors and therefore suffered a loss?

.....Only time will tell.

Naavi.com however is clear that it is the responsibility of the Tamil Nadu Government to take such steps that may be necessary to clear the clouds on Home based IT industry that the incident has generated as well as  regulate such business for future benefit of the society. A preliminary set of action points required in this regard is contained in our article E-Entrepreneurship Development Cell Required which has been forwarded to the TN government authorities.

I would request all those concerned with Soho issue to send a request to the honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Ms J.Jayalalithaa  to initiate an immediate investigative action in this regard. Ms Jayalailithaa  is both IT Savvy and also deeply concerned with the reputation of Chennai as an emerging preferred IT industry base in India and would take necessary action without any delay.  The relevant e-mail address to which the request can be sent is cmcell@tn.gov.in.

Naavi

March 8,2003

Related Article:

A Complaint on a Home Based Business Offer From Chennai

Sohonet India replies

E-Entrepreneurship Development Cell Required

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