New Clues Emerge in Laxmi Rajbanshi Murder Investigation as Police Examine Possible Multiple Involvement

Japanese investigators are examining whether more than one person was involved in the killing of Nepali student Laxmi Rajbanshi, as new details emerge about injuries found on her body and the circumstances surrounding the movement of her body to the Naka River in Fukuoka.

Rajbanshi, 25, was found dead in the Naka River in Fukuoka’s Tenjin area early on 19 August. Police subsequently classified the case as murder after finding multiple injuries to her head and signs of a struggle and blood inside her apartment.

Police investigate possible involvement of multiple people

One of the latest developments is that investigators are considering the possibility that more than one person may have been involved in the incident.

Rajbanshi’s apartment was located about 2km upstream from where her body was discovered. Police found blood and signs of a struggle inside the apartment, but Japanese media reports say there were no conspicuous bloodstains outside the room.

Investigators are now trying to establish how Rajbanshi’s body could have been taken from the apartment and transported towards the river without leaving obvious blood evidence.

Japanese authorities are therefore examining the possibility that, in addition to the person who carried out the attack, other people may have played a role. This remains an investigative possibility rather than an established fact.

Injuries on her arms may show she tried to defend herself

Another significant development concerns injuries found on Rajbanshi’s arms.

Japanese investigators believe several of the injuries may be defensive wounds, meaning they could have occurred while she was attempting to protect herself during the attack.

She also had multiple injuries to her head that are believed to have been caused by blows from a hard object.

Investigators are examining whether the attacker repeatedly assaulted her and whether the attack involved a strong intent to kill.

Police have not publicly identified a suspect or established who caused the injuries.

Father says she had previously mentioned disputes

Rajbanshi’s father has also provided Japanese media with new information about difficulties his daughter had previously described.

Speaking to TV Asahi, he said Rajbanshi had told her family about disputes involving several Nepali people.

According to her father, she had reportedly told her mother that she had argued with a man. He also said she had described an incident in which two women allegedly grabbed her and pulled her hair.

Her father said he did not know the full circumstances of those incidents or the identities of the people involved. He said Rajbanshi later moved to the apartment where she was living when she died.

Police have not said that these earlier disputes were connected to the killing. That distinction is important, as there is currently no confirmed evidence publicly linking those incidents to Rajbanshi’s death.

Timeline remains a major focus

Investigators are continuing to reconstruct Rajbanshi’s final hours.

She was confirmed to have left her part-time job alone at around 10:30pm on 18 August. Police believe she returned home before the attack.

Her body was discovered in the Naka River at about 5:46am on 19 August.

The apartment and the river are connected by the same waterway, and investigators are examining how and when her body reached the river. Japanese reporting has indicated that the estimated time between her death and the discovery of her body is not necessarily inconsistent with the possibility that the body travelled downstream.

A nearby resident also reported hearing what sounded like a large object falling into the river between around 11:30pm and 12:30am, according to FNN’s reporting. Police are examining the circumstances surrounding that report as part of the wider investigation.

No confirmed suspect yet

Despite the new findings, Japanese police have not publicly established who killed Rajbanshi.

The investigation is now focused on several key questions: who attacked her, whether anyone assisted in moving her body, how the body was taken from the apartment, and whether any earlier disputes were connected to the killing.

The discovery of possible defensive wounds provides investigators with another piece of evidence about what may have happened inside the apartment. However, it does not by itself identify the attacker.

Likewise, the possibility of multiple people being involved remains under investigation and should not be treated as confirmation that several people committed the crime.

Japanese authorities are continuing their investigation as they attempt to reconstruct Rajbanshi’s final movements and establish who was responsible for her death.