Three Nepali nationals arrested over killing of Laxmi Rajbanshi in Fukuoka

Fukuoka, Japan, September 9, 2026 — Three Nepali nationals have been arrested in connection with the killing of 25-year-old Nepali vocational school student Laxmi Rajbanshi, whose body was found in a river in the Tenjin area of Fukuoka last month, Japanese police said Tuesday.

Rajbanshi had been living in Fukuoka and studying at a vocational school. She arrived in Japan on a student visa around May 2023.

Police arrested 28-year-old Sanju Tamang, a vocational school student in Fukuoka, 25-year-old Asmita Tamang, who lives in Tosu in Saga Prefecture, and 22-year-old Prabin Lama, an international student also residing in Tosu. All three are suspected of involvement in Rajbanshi's killing.

According to police, Rajbanshi was attacked at her residence in Fukuoka between around 11:30 p.m. on August 18 and 12:15 a.m. the following day.

Investigators believe she was struck on the head with a pot and strangled with a rope before falling from a third-floor balcony into the river, where she drowned.

Police said Sanju Tamang had been living with a person Rajbanshi was in a relationship with. Investigators believe he attacked Rajbanshi and caused her to fall from the balcony.

Rajbanshi's body was discovered at around 5:45 a.m. on August 19 after a passerby spotted a person floating face down in the Naka River in Fukuoka's Tenjin district.

Police officers and firefighters recovered her from the river, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The case was subsequently investigated as a homicide after an autopsy found multiple injuries to Rajbanshi's head, face, body and hands.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding Laxmi Rajbanshi's death and the alleged involvement of the three suspects.