Cut Perimeter Fence and an Unidentified Man at the DG Yard
At 02:15 on a January night, a guard on his third round of a 20-acre warehouse campus in Sonipat finds a 40 cm gap cut in the chain-link fence behind the diesel generator yard. A bundle of cut wire lies on the ground, the DG panel door is open, and a 2.5 m bamboo ladder belonging to the maintenance shed leans against the wall. About 25 m away, near the DG, he sees a man in a blue security-style shirt holding a torch. The man calls out: "I am from the other agency - the supervisor sent me to check the DG." No ID card is visible. The guard's radio works; his partner is at the main gate 300 m away; the campus dog squad is off duty; his phone has 30% battery. All legitimate entry is through the main gate, where a visitor register is kept.
1. Set out his actions in priority order for the next five minutes, with the reasoning for each.
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Priority: own safety > alerting help > preserving the scene > identifying the man.
- Do not close the 25 m distance alone. Stay at a distance with the fence/cover between them, keep the torch on him, and keep the radio in hand. A guard alone, at night, near an already-cut fence, is exactly the situation in which guards get injured.
- Radio the partner and the shift in-charge first, before speaking further: 'Fence cut behind DG yard, one unknown male, need backup at the gate side.' Ask the partner to confirm whether anyone was signed in or sent to the DG.
- Test the claim through the gate, not by argument. All entry is via the main gate and the visitor register - so if nobody is logged in and no supervisor issued a written night-task instruction, the claim fails. Tell him calmly: 'Please stay there, my supervisor is coming.'
- Call 112 if he is still there and the claim is unverified, or if he moves towards the boundary - an intrusion into a fenced compound at 02:15 is a police matter.
- If he runs, do not chase into unlit ground. Note direction, any vehicle and its number, and keep the fence line covered.
- Protect the scene: nobody walks through the cut area, the cut wire bundle is not moved, and the DG is not touched until the electrician and police arrive.
2. How should the log entry be written so that it is useful and defensible?
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Split 'observed' from 'claimed' and from 'opinion' - the examiner is testing exactly this. Observed facts: 02:15 (round 3, DG rear), gap in chain-link fence measuring about 40 cm, cut wire bundle on ground, DG panel door open (state it was found open - do not say 'forced' unless he saw fresh damage), bamboo ladder from maintenance shed against the wall, one male about 25 m away, blue security-style shirt, torch, no visible ID. Claim, attributed: 'The male stated: "I am from the other agency - the supervisor sent me to check the DG." (statement not verified at the time).' Write it as a claim; do not write 'another agency guard was checking the DG'. Actions and times: radio call to partner at ____, shift in-charge informed at ____, gate register checked at ____ (result), police called 112 at ____, police arrived ____ with GD/FIR number, scene handed over to ____. Opinions to keep out: 'thief', 'suspicious character', 'probably insider job'. Those belong in a covering note or verbal briefing, not in the log as fact. Also record the environment: lighting in the DG yard, whether the fence light was working, dog squad off duty. These become the corrective actions in the report and protect the guard from being blamed for a management resourcing gap.
3. What must he specifically avoid doing, and why does each of those matter?
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- Do not physically grab or restrain the man on his own. At 25 m with no backup, a struggle risks injury to both, and an unverified claim means the guard may be assaulting an innocent electrician/agency guard - an assault case and a lost job.
- Do not leave his post/route unattended to chase. The main gate and the warehouse remain the primary responsibility; abandoning a post is a separate misconduct even when the motive is good.
- Do not accept the verbal claim at face value just because the man is in a uniform. Uniforms and 'I was sent by the supervisor' are the cheapest way past a night guard; verification is by gate record and radio, not by appearance.
- Do not 'repair' the fence, drag the ladder back or close the DG panel in a way that destroys footprints, tool marks or fingerprints before police arrive. Photograph and record, then secure the area.
- Do not switch the DG or any panel without the authorised electrician - the open panel may be live.
- Do not speculate about insiders in the register. If the guard suspects an inside link (dog squad off, fence light out), report it verbally to the shift in-charge and let the enquiry establish it; a written accusation without proof is defamation and destroys the case.