India, Nov. 8 -- A young lawyer, her husband, and a balloon seller were arrested on Thursday for allegedly running a racket that framed men entangled in marital disputes in false rape cases to extort money from them, Gurugram police said on Friday.

The accused were identified as Geetika Chawla, 26, a lawyer practising at the Gurugram civil courts, her husband Harsh Kumar Thakkar, 29, and Hanuman, 35, also known as Rohit, who sold balloons on city footpaths. Police said the trio allegedly extorted Rs.1.14 crore in cash, along with gold ornaments, coins worth around Rs.2.85 crore, from their victims.

During a 16-hour search of their flat in Tata Primanti, an upscale complex in Sector 72, police also recovered 10 mobile phones and 11 SIM c...