Other perpetrators in the killing included Bhimasen Mahanta, Rajat Das and Mahendra Hembram. The Central Bureau of Investigation had charged a total of 18 persons in the case in June 1999. Of those formally sentenced to life imprisonment, only Hembram was acquitted In September 2003, the Khordha Sessions Court sentenced Dara Singh to death for his role in the murders. Subsequent to his arrest, Singh's supporters formed several organisations, including Dara Singh Parijan Suraksha Samiti (Council for Aiding the Family of Dara Singh), Dharmarakhyak Sri Dara Singh Bachao Samiti (Committee to defend Dara Singh, the Protector of our Dharma), and Dara Sena (Dara's Army), claiming to espouse his cause. These groups describe him as the saviour of Hinduism. There was also a "Free Dara Singh" website. Several small booklets with titles like Mono Ku Chhui Gola (He Has Touched Our Hearts), or Mu Dara Singh Kahuchi (This is Dara Singh Speaking), eulogising Singh and criticising the activities of Staines and other Christian missionaries, were circulated in the region. The Wadhwa Commission (led by Justice D. P. Wadhwa, a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India), stated that the Bajrang Dal was not involved in the murder of Staines, justifying its non-examination of the role of the Bajrang Dal on the grounds that the Dal was a peaceful and legal organization. Wadhwa cleared Staines of allegations that he had forcibly converted locals. However, the National Commission for minorities (NCM) disputed the Commission's finding and highlighted Singh's connections with the Bajrang Dal. The NCM also suggested that the killers were from Bajrang Dal, because the attackers chanted "long live the Bajrang Dal" before the attacks. Wadhwa condemned Dara Singh, but exonerated Bajrang Dal, the RSS and the BJP for providing the intellectual motivation and sustenance for the crime to be cold-bloodedly carried out. Arrest At least 11 squads of a special task force of the state police constantly patrolled some of the toughest jungle terrains of Mayurbhanj-Keonjhar region for over an year in search of him after the Staines murder. He always had the support of the local tribal people and was always on the move. The police and CBI put a bounty of ₹8 lakhs on his head, but this did not help. The police started "Operation Confinement" to confine Singh and cut off his escape roads in the jungle. The police arrested Dara Singh after a year-long chase on