with the Khalistan movement, a ransom of 500,000 dollars and compensation of 100,000 Indian Rupees (Rs.) for the families of each Sikhs that had been killed on 20 September 1981, at Chowk Mehta after the arrest of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. A day after the hijacking Pakistani commandos arrested the Dal Khalsa activists. The hijackers were identified as Gajinder Singh, Satnam Singh of Paonta Sahib, Jasbir Singh of Ropar, Tejinderpal Singh of Jalandhar and Karam Singh of Jammu. Though Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had never openly or officially associated with the Dal Khalsa the organization was largely seen have had close links with him. In January 1982, Harsimran Singh, chief organizer of the Dal Khalsa was arrested from Mohali near Chandigarh. The Dal Khalsa leaders believed that his arrest was possible due to a conspiracy by some member of the organization. Harsimran Singh was allegedly tortured by the police and was told that they had the permission of the Government to kill him in a fake encounter near the Indo-Pakistan border. Harsimran Singh was forced to read out a written statement if he wanted to save his life. The Dal Khalsa and National Council of Khalistan were banned by the Indian government in May, 1982 after which the Dal Khalsa went underground. Two years later, the Dal Khalsa announced its "Government in Exile" in June, 1984. Gajinder Singh, one of the plane hijackers of the Indian Airlines Jetliner (Boeing 737) in 1981, accepted the post of Chairman of the Dal Khalsa in 1986. Revival of Dal Khalsa After remaining largely dormant and underground for over a decade the Dal Khalsa was revived in 1998 after the ban on the organisation had lapsed. The revived Dal Khalsa continues to commit to its original objective of establishing an independent Khalistan. The main office of the Dal Khalsa is presently based in Amritsar at "Freedom House", Sarhadi Complex, Railway Road. The Dal Khalsa has since also established units in the United States and the Dal Khalsa UK in addition to branches across the Punjab state, India. The revived Dal Khalsa has pledged to put aside armed resistance and further the cause of Khalistan by peaceful and democratic means. On 30 September 2005, the co-founder of the Dal Khalsa, Gajinder Singh stepped down as Chairman of the organisation. Satnam Singh Paonta, himself one of the original Dal Khalsa founders, was chosen as the new