KOLKATA: Bengali daily Swabhumi, which was shut in January, is being re-launched on Saturday, 8 March by its new owner Arjun Infotech, a Gujarat-based information technology firm, according to sources in the newspaper.

Arjun Infotech would also be soon launching a Bengali news television channel, the sources said. Arjun Infotech, which also has a BPO in Kolkata, is owned by Anikt Jaiswal.

The sources said the news channel could be launched as early as on the eve of Bengali new year Nabobarsha on 14 April. The newspaper had to defer till after May 16 its plan to have magician PC Sarkar junior as its brand ambassador as Sarkar is contesting the Lok Sabha elections as a BJP candidate.

The newspaper has already put up hoardings across the city with a message saying ‘Ebar Media Magic.’ “In the second phase of hoardings and advertisements, the media company will use the face of Sarkar’s eldest daughter Maneka Sarkar,” said deputy chief reporter Ishan Chatterjee of Swabhumi. The newspaper will also be having artist Wasim Kapoor and footballer Mehtab Hossain as its brand ambassadors.

Swabhumi was launched in February 2011 by Kolkata-based RICE group headed by Samit Roy. Swabhumi was one of the many newspapers launched around the same time. This is Arjun Infotech’s foray into media business. The newspaper already has a team of around 100 employees including journalists, cameramen and technical persons on board.