FUKUOKA (TR) – Fukuoka Prefectural Police have launched a murder investigation after the body of a 25-year-old Nepalese student was found floating in a river in Fukuoka City’s central Tenjin district, reports TV Asahi (Aug. 20).
The victim, identified as vocational school student Laxmi Rajbanshi, was discovered face-down in the Naka River at approximately 5:45 a.m. on Wednesday. According to police, her face and head sustained multiple wounds consistent with severe blunt force trauma.
At the time of her discovery, Rajbanshi was clad only in a t-shirt and shorts, and was completely barefoot. Her body was found near the river’s mouth, roughly two kilometers downstream from her apartment building, which backs directly onto the waterway.
Investigators believe foul play occurred inside her home, as a search of her bedroom revealed obvious signs of a violent struggle.
A mysterious final seven hours
Police have pieced together a timeline of the young woman’s final hours. Rajbanshi, who arrived in Japan three years ago to study, was last seen alive leaving her part-time restaurant job at around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday. She is believed to have ridden her bicycle home.
At roughly 11:40 p.m., a cryptic video was uploaded to her social media account. The accompanying text, written in Nepali, hinted at a brewing interpersonal conflict.
“I can end the relationship or tell the other person about myself,” the post read. “The rest depends on your attitude, which determines what kind of person you deserve to be.”
Just over three hours later, at shortly after 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday, a female acquaintance dialed 110 to report that Rajbanshi had vanished from her residence. Her body was pulled from the water less than three hours after the emergency call.
Shattered dreams of a safe country
Fukuoka has recently emerged as a major hub for Nepalese youths seeking education and employment, with the local Nepalese student population more than tripling over the past five years to become the largest foreign demographic in the city.
The brutal killing has sent shockwaves through the local expatriate community.
“Her parents wanted her to have a nice house and a good income,” an acquaintance of the victim told reporters. “She came to a safe country like Japan to build a place for her future, and it breaks my heart that this happened.”
Police have established a special investigative task force to determine the exact location of the murder and track down her killer.
