Babbar Khalsa also had the support of the Congress party. Longowal by now feared for his own safety. Tohra convinced the high priest to allow Bhindranwale to reside on the first floor of Akal Takht, as he had nowhere to go to avoid arrest. Bhindranwale had assumed that the sacredness of the shrine would give him immunity from arrest. He claimed that he had to move to Akal Takht as Morcha director Longowal was negotiating with the government for his arrest. The government claimed Bhindranwale and his followers had made the Golden Temple complex an armoury By December 1983, he had made it a headquarters for extremist activities. A few leaders raised their voice against Bhindranwale in the Golden Temple and other Gurudwaras across the state. Among the prominent ones was Giani Partap Singh, an eighty year old spiritual leader and a former Jathedar of the Akal Takht. Partap had openly criticized Bhindranwale for stocking arms and ammunition in the Akal Takht. Bhindranwale's occupation of the Akal Takht was called an act of sacrilege. Partap was shot dead at his home in Tahli Chowk. Other dissenters were also killed. They included Harbans Singh Manchanda, the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee president, Niranjan Singh, the Granthi of Gurudwara Toot Sahib, Granthi Jarnail Singh of Valtoha and Granthi Surat Singh of Majauli. All those who spoke against Bhindranwale were perceived as his enemies who in turn were branded as enemies of the Sikh faith. Bhindranwale's group were killing the Sikhs who had been speaking against Bhindranwale and the idea of Khalistan. The Sikh religious leadership had heard and understood the message being spread and they had already succumbed to their fear. In January 1984, India's secret service Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) prepared a covert plan codenamed Operation Sundown involving special forces to abduct Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple complex. A RAW unit was formed to rehearse Operation Sundown in the Sarsawa Air Force Base in Uttar Pradesh, but the operation never materialized due to Indira Gandhi's rejection. It would have caused numerous casualties as collateral damage, the Golden Temple being one of the most visited sites in Punjab. It would have also hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikhs.