Woman's electrocution may be honor killing

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KARACHI, Pakistan, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- A 22-year-old woman was electrocuted in Pakistan in a suspected "honor killing" for allegedly eloping with a man, police said.

Pakistan's Nation newspaper quoted a police official as saying the woman was allegedly killed by family members in her village near Bahawalpur but that her parents and other relatives claimed she had committed suicide by consuming pesticides because she was unhappy with her arranged marriage. Police were holding the woman's father and four other relatives in the case, the report said.

The Hindustan Times, quoting other reports, said the woman was brought back from Karachi where she had reportedly gone and was later allegedly electrocuted on the orders of the village council, made up of mostly family members.

The report said police learned of the incident at the time of the woman's funeral and took custody of the body. Police and hospital sources were quoted as saying initial tests indicated the woman had been subjected to electric shocks, the report said.