Alarmed by the prospect of an armed rebellion in Bjelovar and the surrounding countryside, Kvaternik selected a broad area in and around the town where Serbs were to be "cleansed". "For every Croat killed," he said, "we must execute 100 Serbs." The disarming and arresting of VKJ personnel by the Ustaše was accompanied by numerous incidents, in which about 20 armed VKJ troops and Serb civilians were killed. Kvaternik feared that these deaths would only increase the likelihood of an armed revolt and became even more wary when he heard rumours that Bjelovar's Serbs were planning an uprising to coincide with the feast day of St. George (Đurđevdan), on 6 May. Interior Minister Andrija Artuković arrived in Bjelovar after hearing such rumours. At a meeting with Verhas and his lieutenants, he stated that "serious action" would have to be taken to "send a message to the enemies of the Ustaše and the NDH". On 26 April, Kvaternik and his closest assistant, Ivica Šarić, organized the mass arrest of 530 Serb villagers from Grubišno Polje. Thirty Ustaše took part in the arrests. The detainees were transported to the Danica camp, near Koprivnica, and from there taken to Ustaše camps at Gospić, Pag Island, Jasenovac and Stara Gradiška, where most were killed.
