An Indian policeman is being hailed as a hero after he braved rioting mobs to save families during days of religious violence in the capital Delhi.
Riots in the city broke out on Sunday, killing 38 people and injuring more than 200.
Neeraj Jadaun, a superintendent of police in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state, told the BBC's Vikas Pandey that he was patrolling a border checkpoint on 25 February when he heard sounds of gunfire coming from Karawal Nagar in Delhi - just 200m (650ft) away from him.
He saw a mob of 40-50 people setting vehicles on fire when one of them jumped into a house with a petrol bomb. At that point, Mr Jadaun decided to break with traditional police protocol and made a split-second decision to cross the state border into Delhi.
In India, police officers need explicit permission to cross state borders.
"I chose to cross. I was willing to go alone despite being aware of the danger and the fact that it was beyond my jurisdiction. Those were the most terrifying 15 seconds of my life. Thankfully, the team followed me, and my seniors also supported me when I informed them later," he said.
"It was dangerous as we were outnumbered and the rioters were armed. We first tried to negotiate with them and when that failed, we told them that police would open fire. They retreated but seconds later, they threw stones at us and we also heard gunshots," he added.
However, Mr Jadaun and his team held their positions and kept pushing back until the rioters finally left.
Richi Kumar, a reporter with the Hindi daily Amar Ujala, described Mr Jadaun's decision as the "bravest act" he had ever seen.
"The situation was very dangerous. The rioters were fully armed and they were not ready to listen to anybody. I can describe them as bloodthirsty. They were throwing stones at the police but Mr Jadaun did not back down. There was real danger of policemen being shot at by rioters," he told the BBC.
The violence first broke out in north- east Delhi between protesters for and against a controversial citizenship law.
But they have since taken on communal overtones.