Jalandhar, May 27 -- Punjab Police have arrested a close associate of foreign-based terrorist Arsh Dalla and Jindi Mehandipuria, who is a brother of slain terrorist Teja Mehandipuri, from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, said director general of police Gaurav Yadav here on Monday. The operation was jointly conducted by counter-intelligence (CI), Jalandhar, and Hoshiarpur Police with the support of Gujarat Police. DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that accused Lavish was acting under the direct instructions of Dalla and was engaged in extortion activities, including firing at targets to intimidate victims. "The accused has a criminal background with multiple cases pertaining to murder, attempted extortion through gunfire, and other serious offences have been registered against him," he added. He said that accused Lavish has remained in constant communication with his foreign-based handlers and was preparing to execute a sensational crime in Punjab. Sharing operation details, assistant inspector general CI-Jalandhar Navjot Singh Mahal said that Punjab Police had been following the trail of the accused Lavish for the last few months, and following the technical and human intel, police teams managed to track his location in Gujarat. "With the support of Gujarat Police, we have successfully arrested him from the area of Usmanpura in Gujarat," he said. The AIG said that preliminary investigation has revealed that accused Lavish had conducted a recce of a Rahon-based liquor contractor and a Nawanshahr-based travel agent from whom Dalla had demanded extortion of Rs.50 lakh each. Hoshiarpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Kumar Malik said that the accused was absconding since May 2024 after committing murder in the Model Town area of Hoshiarpur. The arrested accused had also fired gunshots outside the house in Sukhdev Nagar to intimidate the owner to extort money, he said, while adding that further investigation is underway to identify additional operatives and trace both backward and forward linkages in this case....