Ludhiana, April 27 -- What began as a routine investigation into an assault case registered on March 10 has unravelled an extortion racket in Salem Tabri area, police officials said on Sunday.

Officials of the Salem Tabri police station said that a resident of Aman Nagar had accused a few residents of his locality of assaulting him and others. During the course of investigation, police came across fake documents and forged identity cards purportedly linked to various government departments, exposing an organised network targeting unsuspecting residents, officials said. Three persons have already been arrested. Two more associates have been identified who remain at large, officials said.

Complainant Aman, a resident of Aman Nagar, had st...