The Iranian authorities denied wrongdoing, spread several contradictory stories concerning her fate, and allegedly coerced some of her family members to support these narratives.

Shakarami's death and the attempts of government suppression regarding information on her fate was widely publicized in international media and further fanned the ongoing protests.

[1] An Iranian document leaked to the BBC in 2024 concluded that Shakarami was killed by security forces that had taken her captive, after she fought back while being sexually assaulted by her captors.

[2] Shakarami, Sarina Esmailzadeh and Hadis Najafi, according to media sources, became the new faces of the ongoing protests in Iran, and their pictures appeared on posters, that were secretly plastered on the walls in Iranian cities.

The riot was called upon by The Covenant (پیمان) and the Neighborhood youth alliance (جوانان محلات ایران) bringing hundreds to Keshavarz Boulevard.

[10][12] According to CNN, on 12 October, her Telegram account was briefly reactivated, likely by Iranian authorities, and family members confirmed that Shakarami's phone was in the possession of the prosecutor's office in Tehran.

[8] Ten days later[4] they were informed that someone with similar characteristics had been discovered during forensic examinations of dead protesters[17] and her body was at the Kahrizak morgue,[10] located in a local detention center.

[a] The document stated that Shakarami was taken captive by security forces in an undercover van, sexually assaulted, and fought back, leading to her being beaten to death by batons.

Her captors were instructed to take her to Evin Prison, but dumped her body under the Yadegar-e-Emam highway after reporting her death to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and receiving new orders.

[22] Shakarami's aunt and uncle were arrested shortly thereafter in their home on 2 October and other family members were threatened that she would be executed if they participated in the protests.

[10] The news of her death led to high school girls joining the anti-government protests in large numbers on 4 October,[33] some symbolically removing their hijabs in further defiance of the government.

[34] An article by Miriam Berger in The Washington Post described Shakarami's death and the attempt by the authorities to cover it up as "[giving the] demonstrators another rallying cry".

[12] According to Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of the Iran Human Rights organization, "The available evidence indicates the government's role in Nika Shakrami's murder; Unless the opposite is proven by an independent fact-finding commission under the supervision of the United Nations.

During the confession or interview, her aunt stated that Shakarami had fallen from a roof[12] and her uncle lamented Shakarami's brutal and suspicious death but also expressed doubt that the authorities were responsible, citing religious and legal hurdles, instead blaming social media radicalization and suggesting that she had been killed by protesters from Lorestan wishing to inspire more protests in Lorestan itself.

[45] A death certificate issued by a cemetery in Tehran also stated that Shakarami died after "multiple injuries caused by blows with a hard object".

[12][47] Authorities used a similar suicide by jumping narrative concerning the death of another 16-year-old, Sarina Esmailzadeh, who died, according to Amnesty International, after reportedly being severely beaten by police with batons.

[12][47] Dariush Shahoonvand, prosecutor in the Lorestan province, denied any wrongdoing on the part of Iranian authorities and claimed that Shakarami had been buried in "her village" and that "foreign enemies" were to blame for creating a "tense and fearful atmosphere" following her death,[10][36] though he did not elaborate further on what he meant.

[36] According to IRNA news agency, quoting the head of criminal prosecution of Tehran province: "In the autopsy tests and examination of the body, traces of fractures were observed".