When Tha Peng was ordered to shoot at protesters with his submachine gun to disperse them in the Myanmar town of Khampat on Feb. 27, the police lance corporal said he refused.
"The next day, an officer called to ask me if I will shoot," he said. The 27-year-old refused again, and then resigned from the force.
On March 1, he said he left his home and family behind in Khampat and traveled for three days, mostly at night to avoid detection, before crossing into India's northeastern Mizoram state.