The DMK’s first family-owned channel, Sun News, faced fresh embarrassment this time, not from netizens, but from the Uttar Pradesh Police, who issued a sharp and warranted rebuttal after the channel irresponsibly shared a fake news card on its official X account. The post falsely claimed that police in Etah district had closed a sexual assault case in exchange for samosas. What Sun News presented as ‘journalism’ was, in reality, nothing more than WhatsApp-circulated-gossip repackaged as news, without a shred of fact-checking.
On 1 July 2025, as pressure mounted on the DMK government over the alleged custodial death of Ajithkumar, a 27-year-old temple security guard, Sun News often seen as the unofficial mouthpiece of the DMK diverted focus by digging up a baseless story from Uttar Pradesh. Their news card boldly declared, “Police received samosas as bribe in sexual assault case. UP: Police in Etah district accepted 6 samosas as a bribe and closed the investigation into a minor girl’s sexual assault case. The accused reportedly owns a samosa shop. In a case filed by the father of the 14-year-old victim against this, the POCSO court cancelled the police’s investigation report.”
#Crimeசெய்திகள் | சமோசாக்களை லஞ்சமாகப் பெற்று பாலியல் வழக்கை முடித்து வைத்த உ.பி. போலீசார்#SunNews | #UttarPradesh | #Crime pic.twitter.com/saKlnjRqCU
— Sun News (@sunnewstamil) July 1, 2025
However, the Etah Police swiftly debunked the fake news. In a detailed clarification, they explained that the incident actually dates back to 2019 and involved a dispute over unpaid samosas, not bribery. The accused, a samosa vendor, had refused further credit to the complainant. A final report was filed at the time, and following a protest, the court ordered a re-investigation in 2024. The police reiterated that nowhere in the court order was there any mention of samosas being accepted as a bribe. In fact, it clearly related to a commercial dispute, not corruption.
The UP Police called the viral news card “completely misleading and far from the truth,” exposing Sun News once again for spreading misinformation in the name of journalism.
Etah police statement read, “This incident dates back to the year 2019. The accused owns a Samosa shop. A dispute arose when the complainant asked for samosas on credit, and the accused demanded payment for previously given credit samosas and refused further credit. A final report was filed in the case. Based on the complainant’s protest, the Hon’ble Court ordered a re-investigation in 2024. In the re-investigation as well, the investigating officer submitted a final report. Again, on the complainant’s protest, the Hon’ble Court canceled the final report and ordered the matter to be heard as a complaint. There is no mention in the Hon’ble Court’s order about filing a final report after taking samosas as a bribe; rather, it mentions a dispute over samosas on credit, which also emerged during the investigation. The circulated news is completely misleading and far from the truth.”
— Etah Police (@Etahpolice) July 2, 2025
This episode has turned into yet another mockery for Sun News, which now finds itself being publicly shamed for peddling fake news at a time when it should have been focused on holding power to account not acting as a distraction machine for the ruling party.
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