Another Agrawal in the making?

He is another Pramod Agrawal look alike, but in west Nagpur. The fence around landscaped roundabout at Aath Rasta square, Laxmi Nagar, 

prominently carries a couple of banners of Pathak Properties promising to double one's money in three and a half years, just as Agrawal promised to do in two and half years. "Invest in multiples of Rs 25,000 and see the money double in three and a half years," say the ads. 

Pathak Properties is run by Vivek Pathak an IIT Kharagpur graduate. While he, like Agrawal is promising returns far in excess of what is available in market, Pathak calls his scheme a safety device meant to save gullible investors from schemes like Agrawal's. But experts in the realty business are already demanding it is time to have a regulator to monitor such schemes. 

Pathak did not market his the plan as aggressively as Agrawal who put out huge newspaper ads. Even though Pathak Properties' hoarding just had a couple of phone numbers, bystanders at the Aath Rastaa chowk guide a visitor to the office. Pathak says he has collected a mere Rs 3 lakh under the doubling scheme started a year ago, he says. Agrawal is believed to have collected crores. 

Pathak's office in Laxmi Nagar is plush, unlike Agrawal's, and indeed there is no rush of investors. Pathak claims to be in realty business for the last 20 years. He is known as a middle level builder, having a built a number of schemes in Laxmi Nagar. He says his firm has a yearly turnover of Rs 3 crore. 

Pathak told TOI he started this scheme after seeing a large number of investors paying huge deposits to Agrawal. "Many were senior citizens and some very poor. I thought I should start a scheme that gives a more realistic return and the money would be safer with a reliable firm like mine," he added. Pathak said it was not possible to earn the kind of returns that Agrawal promised, but one could certainly earn a 24% interest each year, which is what doubles the sum in three and half years after compounding. 

"My scheme is mainly aimed at the lower income group, which does not have enough money to invest and benefit from the realty boom in Nagpur. For the big ticket investors, he recommends a direct investing in land. I have other schemes too," he said. 

He said the money raised through the scheme was invested in his business which was a mix of construction and purchase and sale of properties. "As soon as investment arrives, I give them a cheque of twice the amount post-dated to three and a half years," said Pathak. 

The scheme was started a year ago and the tenure is yet to end. There is another scheme in which one can invest for an year for a return ranging from 10%-20%. The first year has ended and I have successfully paid back a little over Rs 1 lakh I had collected," he says.