Police were left shocked on Sunday morning after the body of 30-year-old Rubi Kumari Sah was discovered inside a blue suitcase near Mudwala Gate on the Gaur-Sirsiya road.

The investigation is ongoing to determine who killed Rubi and why, and whether the murder was linked to a criminal group or other motives.

Police investigating the murder quickly zeroed in on the victim’s boyfriend, Laxman Paswan. However, before any conclusion was drawn, Paswan took drastic action.

He publicly claimed responsibility in a nine-minute video posted on social media and then allegedly set himself on fire in a suicide attempt. Authorities later found him on a roadside in Rautahat and took him under control.

Laxman died while undergoing treatment at the Nepal Cleft and Burn Centre at Kirtipur Hospital.

What drove him to such a psychological state that he attempted to take his own life after killing Rubi? What events led up to this tragedy? Here, we outline the key aspects of the case in seven questions and answers.

How and when did Rubi and Laxman’s relationship begin?

Rubi and Laxman had known each other since class 6 while they studied at Madhopur Secondary School in ward 6 of Madhav Narayan Municipality, Rautahat. Their homes were only about 100 metres apart, with roughly five houses between them.

They often attended tuition classes together, and school friends say they were very close since that time, with some friends aware of that.

By class 10, their relationship had become known beyond the school, spreading through the village and neighbourhood. Locals often gossiped about them, questioning their match due to caste differences.

Rubi’s family had even allegedly warned Laxman and his family. According to Subbasahab Paswan of the Dalit Journalists Association, some unknown individuals had threatened Laxman even then.

What are the family backgrounds of Rubi and Laxman, and how do their social and economic statuses differ?

Laxman was the only son of Jayanath Paswan, whose family lived in extreme poverty—so much so that they could not even afford basic household items.

In 2016, Laxman went to Malaysia for foreign employment, where he worked for five years before returning. He had been concerned about his father, who suffered a paralytic attack a year earlier.

The money he earned abroad was largely spent on his father’s treatment and settling old debts.

Rubi, in contrast, came from a middle-class family. Her father had been working in Gujarat, India, since 2014 and was still abroad at the time of her murder. Her mother raised her.

According to locals, Rubi falling in love with Laxman caused tensions between the families, leading them to move from their village to the district headquarters, Gaur, in 2012.

The families differed in economic status and social standing, as Laxman was from a Dalit community and Rubi was non-Dalit. Eight locals told the Post that while the couple loved each other, caste differences created further challenges.

Laxman’s Dalit identity made him a target of Rubi’s family, highlighting the role of societal caste norms in their relationship conflict.

Why did they elope, and why did their marriage fail?

Society was deeply divided over a relationship between a Dalit and a non-Dalit. Fearing social opposition, Laxman and Rubi went to Chandigarh, India, on January 8, 2012, while both were in class 10.

Rubi was 16 and Laxman was 17 at the time. They returned seven months later, in August 2013, claiming to have had a court marriage on July 30, 2013, at the Sarlahi District Court.

Police investigations suggest the documents used to register the marriage may have been forged. Upon returning, Rautahat police arrested both, as Rubi’s family had filed a case against Laxman, his uncle Baijnath Hazar, and brother-in-law Khajanchi Paswan, accusing them of abduction, confinement, and human trafficking.

Laxman was held for 17 days before being released on Rs15,000 bail. After nearly two years of legal proceedings, Laxman, his uncle, and brother-in-law were acquitted by a single bench of then-judge Radhakrishna Upreti on December 11, 2014.

What happened after they were separated?

Around six to seven months after their separation and the case filing, Rubi’s mother arranged her marriage to a man from Muzaffarpur, India. The timing of Laxman’s subsequent marriage is unclear, but he later had an arranged marriage with another woman and now has two sons, aged seven and four. Rubi also had a son from her marriage. Two months ago, she visited her maternal home in Gaur, saying she wanted to enrol her four-year-old son in school.

Did Laxman or Rubi initiate contact recently?

According to the police, their communication continued even after their separation. Police Inspector Rudra Kandel of the District Police Office, Rautahat, said that the couple frequently exchanged messages on WhatsApp. Laxman had returned from Malaysia just two months before Rubi came back from India. He was living alone in a rented room in Gaur, leaving his parents, wife, and two sons at home. Their homes were about 1.5 kilometres apart.

On the afternoon of the incident, Rubi visited a beauty salon and later went to Laxman’s room at 4:55pm. Police recovered photos suggesting they were celebrating Laxman’s birthday, though it is unclear whether it was on the actual day or an earlier occasion.

What factors drove Laxman to murder Rubi?

Police said that Rubi was preparing to return to her husband’s home in India, which appears to have increased Laxman’s emotional distress. Investigations indicate he became agitated over being separated from Rubi due to caste-based opposition from her family and community. Authorities suspect he may have intended to take revenge for their forced separation and her marriage to another man. In a recorded confession, Laxman stated that these factors drove him into depression and led him to attempt to end his life after killing Rubi. Police assessment suggests that a dispute arising from these tensions triggered the murder.

What did Laxman do after killing Rubi?

On Saturday night, Laxman strangled Rubi to death in his rented room. After the murder, he attempted to dispose of the body. Police investigations revealed that he planned to pack the body into a suitcase, load it into an e-rickshaw, and dump it in the Bagmati river.

The e-rickshaw driver, Rajkumar Mahara, agreed to help for Rs500. However, a wheel malfunction forced the plan to fail. Rajkumar tried to contact another e-rickshaw, but Laxman refused. He then abandoned the suitcase near Mudwala Gate and left, which brought the incident to public attention.

Police said that Laxman fled, apparently crossing into Indian territory for three days before returning to the village on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, while attempting suicide by dousing himself in petrol, locals alerted the police. He was taken to Better Nepal Multispeciality Hospital in Garuda for treatment. During treatment, Laxman said that an argument over their relationship led him to kill Rubi. He was later transferred to Kathmandu, where he died from severe burns on his face and other parts of his body.