Kathmandu District Court convicts cricketer Lamichhane of rape case involving a minor

Kathmandu / Dec 29: The District Court, Kathmandu has convicted cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane of raping a minor girl.

A bench of District Court Judge Shishir Raj Dhakal has upheld the charges against him.

There will be a separate hearing for determining the imprisonment period. The same bench will determine the imprisonment, fine and compensation for the victim on January 10, 2024.

A complaint was filed against Lamichhane, who is also the former captain of the national cricket team of Nepal, on September 6, 2022. The victim complained that Lamichhane took her from Baneshwar to Nagarkot on August 21 and took her to Kathmandu Inn in Pingalasthan at night and raped her.

The next day, he travelled to the West Indies to play in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). He returned to Nepal on October 6 and was arrested at the airport.

After completing the investigation, the police filed a case of rape through the public prosecutor’s office. The district court then sent him to prison for preliminary investigation.

Sandeep moved the High Court against the district court’s decision. On January 12, 2023, a division bench of High Court judges Ramesh Dhakal and Dhruvraj Nanda overturned the order of the district and ordered to release him on a bond of Rs 2 million. However, the court had set a precondition that Lamichhane could not go abroad without prior approval.

The high court order provided much respite to Lamichhane, allowing him to play for the national team in some crucial matches. He knocked the door of the Supreme Court seeking permission to go abroad for ICC League Two matches. On February 27, a joint bench of SC justices Sapana Malla Pradhan and Kumar Chudal allowed Lamichhane to go abroad for cricket matches.