On Friday, December 29, the Kathmandu District Court found former captain of the Nepal Cricket Team Sandeep Lamichhane guilty of raping an 18-year-old girl. A single bench of Judge Shishir Raj Dhakal issued the order against the Nepali cricket player during the case’s final hearings on Sunday, December 24. The next hearing will decide the cricketer’s jail sentence and any potential penalties or compensation.
Since January 12, Sandeep Lamichhane has been released on bond and has even recently competed for his nation in a number of competitions. In response to Lamichhane’s review appeal, the Patan High Court released the cricket player on a two-million rupee bail bond, subject to certain restrictions. The joint bench of judges, Dhruva Raj Nanda and Ramesh Dahal, made this decision.
In September 2022, the Kathmandu District Attorney’s Office filed a complaint against Lamichhane, alleging that on August 21, he had sexually assaulted a seventeen-year-old girl, according to an article published in the Kathmandu Post. But the court found that the victim was not a juvenile at the time of the offense, so Section 219 of the Criminal Code 2074 was used to charge the cricket player.
On September 6, while Lamichhane was in Trinidad and Tobago to play in the Caribbean Premier League, the victim made the initial accusation against him at the Metropolitan Police Circle in Gaushala. The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), which at the time was Nepal’s captain, suspended Lamichhane after receiving a complaint.
October 6, 2022, saw the arrest of Sandeep Lamichhane.
On October 6, 2022, at Tribhuvan International Airport, he was taken into custody. Lamichhane had termed the whole thing a “conspiracy and wrongful allegation” and had posted on Facebook prior to being taken into custody, promising to “fully cooperate in all stages of the investigation and will fight a legal battle to prove his innocence.”.
The district attorney’s charge sheet sought restitution from Lamichhane for the victim’s claimed abuse, both physical and psychological. His property and bank account were frozen following the filing of the charge sheet.
In a Nepal Pro Club Championship encounter earlier in the day in Birgun, Lamichhane guided PARSA Club XI to victory over Nepal Army Club.
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