By Zafar Abbas New Delhi, Jan 28 : He stood firm and looked straight in the eye of the old man in a turban who raised his sword above his head, ready to strike him, at the NH-24 on January 26. Delhi Police Sub-Inspector Dayachand's photo went viral where he is seen facing an angry protester with a raised sword. Dayachand who was posted in Mandawali police station of East Delhi was on duty at NH-24 as hundreds of protesters swarmed in and started attacking the picket staff on duty. Just as the sword was about to hit Dayachand, constable Nitin who was witnessing the confrontation acted with lightning speed and blocked the blow of the sword with his baton. "It was horrific. As I saw the man with the sword attacking my senior SI Dayachand, I blocked his sword with my baton wasting no time. The sword hit my baton. Then the angry mob turned towards me and attacked me," said Nitin, also posted at Mandawali police station in east Delhi. Nitin recalls how the angry protesters then hit him with lathis and blows till he fell down. Other policemen later came to his rescue and took him and Dayachand to safety. The Delhi Police has started the search for the protester with the sword and his photographs are being circulated to get some information on him. A man with a sword was also seen standing at the picket in east Delhi on the barricades. "Action will be taken against all those indulging in illegal acts," said Deepak Yadav, DCP, East Delhi. On January 26, as the farmers' protest took an ugly turn as thousands of protesters entered the capital, clashes between police and protesters were seen in several parts of Delhi near the border areas and in the heart of the city at ITO and Red Fort. (Zafar Abbas can be reached at zafar.a@ians.in) /IANS