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Woman fleeing arranged marriage fatally poisons husband and his relatives

A Pakistani woman who tried to flee her arranged marriage killed her husband and 12 of his relatives using poisoned milk, authorities said.

Police say the poisoned milk was turned into lassi, a yogurt drink popular in South Asia.Getty Images

Police claim Asiya Bibi laced her husband’s milk last week, and that after he didn’t drink it, the spiked liquid was used to make lassi, a yogurt drink, which she served to him and his extended family, the BBC reported.

Along with the 13 dead from last Thursday’s poisoning, 14 more were hospitalized, police said.

Bibi, who lives in the southwest city of Muzaffargarh, was forced to marry in September and tried to flee her home and go back to her parents, only to be sent back to her husband.

Arranged marriages are common in poorer, rural areas of Pakistan and pushed through by family members, the outlet reported.

The newlywed has been charged with murder and her aunt and a man who is allegedly her lover have also been arrested.