New Delhi: Police have registered a First Information Report against unidentified persons after two posters questioning the government's performance were found pasted inside a train running on the Delhi Metro's Airport Express Line, police sources said on Friday.
The posters, printed in black and white on A4-sized sheets, carried phrases such as "You Can Change Your Own Life", "Voting Protest", "Spectrum of Engagement", "Community Building Reform" and "Dissatisfied? You Are Not Alone". They also listed nine claims about changes the country has seen in recent years, according to the sources.
In addition to the political messaging, the posters featured a QR code inviting commuters to join an online group. Police have seized the posters, and the Special Cell of the Delhi Police has also joined the investigation.
According to the FIR, the incident first came to light on October 20, when Tarun Chaudhary, a train operator employed with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and deployed on the Airport Express Line, was on duty.
Chaudhary operated a train from New Delhi station towards Yashobhoomi, leaving at around 6.50 pm. The train reached its destination at approximately 7.15 pm. While carrying out an inspection of the train from inside the cabin, he noticed the two posters pasted on a seat.
He removed the posters from the seat and informed his senior officers as well as the Operations Control Centre. He was then instructed to hand the material over to the station controller at Dwarka Sector 21, who subsequently informed the police.
The posters came to public attention three days later, when police sources confirmed the registration of the FIR on Friday, October 23. Efforts are now underway to identify the person who pasted the posters inside the train, the sources said. No arrests have been reported so far in the case.
The Airport Express Line, also known as the Orange Line, is the Delhi Metro's premium corridor connecting New Delhi railway station with Dwarka Sector 21 via the Indira Gandhi International Airport. It is the fastest metro line in the city, with trains capable of running at speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour, and it links the airport to the city centre in roughly twenty minutes.
Yashobhoomi station, the terminus of the run during which the posters were discovered, serves the India International Convention and Expo Centre in Dwarka, one of the largest convention facilities in Asia. The line also serves commuters heading to the airport as well as residents of Dwarka, making its coaches among the most high-profile advertising spaces in the capital's transit system.
DMRC follows a strict protocol for any unauthorised material found inside its trains. Train operators and station staff are required to remove such material immediately and report it through the Operations Control Centre, which coordinates with station controllers and, where necessary, the police. In this case, the chain of reporting ran from the train operator to senior officers, then to the station controller at Dwarka Sector 21, who formally alerted the police.
The Delhi Metro's rules prohibit the pasting or display of any posters, stickers, or advertisements inside coaches and stations without prior written permission from the corporation. Commercial advertising inside metro premises is sold through authorised agencies, and any material put up without that authorisation is treated as a violation. In this instance, the police have gone further by registering a criminal case against unidentified persons.
The involvement of the Special Cell, the Delhi Police's specialised unit that handles sensitive and high-priority cases, indicates that investigators are treating the incident seriously. The QR code printed on the posters, which invited commuters to join an online group, is likely to be a key line of inquiry, as tracing it could help investigators identify who printed and distributed the material.
The content of the posters has drawn attention because it directly questions the government's performance. Phrases like "Voting Protest" and "Dissatisfied? You Are Not Alone" suggest an attempt to mobilise public sentiment, while the mention of nine claims about recent changes in the country points to a broader critique of governance. The exact text of those nine claims has not been made public by the police so far.
Incidents of political messaging appearing in public spaces often spark debate about the boundary between legitimate expression and unlawful activity. The Delhi Metro, as one of the busiest rapid transit systems in the world, carries lakhs of passengers every day, and any material pasted inside its coaches reaches a vast and captive audience.
Unauthorised pasting is treated as a violation of metro regulations, and in this instance the police have gone further by registering a criminal case against unidentified persons.
Police sources have not disclosed the specific sections of law under which the FIR has been registered. The investigation is expected to focus on how the posters were smuggled into the train, whether CCTV footage from the coach or the stations can identify the person responsible, and who operates the online group linked to the QR code.
The Delhi Metro's coaches and stations are covered by an extensive network of CCTV cameras, and investigators routinely use this footage to track suspects in cases of vandalism, theft, and other offences committed inside the network. In this case, footage from the New Delhi and Yashobhoomi stations, as well as from the coach itself, could help establish when and where the posters were put up.
The case also highlights the growing use of QR codes in protest messaging and public campaigns. By directing commuters to an online group, the posters appear to have been designed not just to display a message but to recruit sympathisers into a digital community. Investigators will likely examine whether the group was created recently and whether it has any wider organisational links.
Such QR-linked campaigns present a particular challenge for investigators because the digital trail can be anonymised, but it can also work in the police's favour: the hosting platform or the messaging service behind the group may hold records that reveal the administrator's identity. The Special Cell has specialised cyber units that routinely handle such technical investigations.
For now, the Delhi Police continue to work on identifying the individuals behind the posters. The seized material remains in police custody, and the Special Cell's involvement suggests that the probe could extend beyond the simple act of pasting the posters to the network behind their creation and distribution.
(Reporting based on The Times of India.)