Bhubaneswar, Oct 2: Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik has resigned from his position as the editor of 'Sambad,' an Odia daily newspaper that he owns, in the midst of allegations related to a loan fraud case. He has also stepped down as the chairman of Eastern Media Limited.

This decision comes in the wake of recent actions taken by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Crime Branch, which conducted raids at the 'Sambad' office in Rasulgarh, probing into the alleged loan fraud. These raids involved three joint teams consisting of 12 EOW officials and Commissionerate Police personnel.

Following his resignation, his daughter, Tanaya Patnaik, who serves as the executive director of the Sambad group, has assumed the role of editor of the newspaper.

During the EOW investigation, Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, who had been raising questions about the state government and the district visits of 5T secretary VK Pandian through his editorial, was removed from his position as BJD vice-president. Subsequently, on September 21, the BJD expelled him from the party, accusing him of engaging in 'anti-people' activities. However, Patnaik has chosen not to comment on his expulsion from the ruling BJD.

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