Former Nepal Cricket Captain Sandeep Lamichhane, Accused Of Raping Minor, Taken Into Police Custody
Published - 06 Oct 2022, 02:14 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 09:19 AM
Sandeep Lamichhane, the suspended captain of Nepal’s national cricket team, who has been accused of rape, was arrested and taken into custody by the police at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).
Nepali cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane has been accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in a hotel room in Kathmandu. In an FIR registered with Gaushala Mahanagar Police Circle, the young woman alleged that Lamichhane raped her in a hotel in August.
Earlier in the day, Lamichhane posted on his official social media profile that he will return to Nepal to “fully cooperate in all stages of investigation” and that he will “fight legal battle to prove my innocence.”
Sandeep Lamichhane Taken Into Custody By Police
According to ANI, Lamichhane was arrested on arrival at the airport.
Nepal | Former Nepali National team captain Sandeep Lamichhane, accused of raping a minor, arrested & taken into custody by police at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu https://t.co/IRkjcPPPvb pic.twitter.com/xF4f1LK0Ol
— ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2022
I Am Sure I Will Get Justice – Sandeep Lamichhane
Earlier, Lamichhane had posted a message on his official Facebook profile in which he stated that he would seek justice and denied any wrongdoing.
“As per my sincere commitment to submit myself to the authority of Nepal, I am landing at 10:00 am from Qatar Airways in the Tribhuvan International Airport at Kathmandu,” the former cricketer said in a Facebook post early Thursday morning.
The 25-year-old former national team captain has pleaded not guilty and expressed his intention to seek a lawyer in response to the wrongful prosecution and allegations.
“I am sure I will get justice and will return to the cricket ground soon to make the name and fame of my beloved country and I pray for a speedy trial. I will fully cooperate in all stages of the investigation and will fight a legal battle to prove my innocence. Let the justice prevail.”
INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) has already issued a diffusion notice at the request of Nepal Police in the aftermath of the rape allegations.
The 22-year-old leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane has represented Nepal in 30 ODIs and 44 T20 Internationals so far. He took 69 wickets in ODIs with an economy rate of 4.02 and 78 wickets in T20 Internationals. He has taken a total of 193 wickets in his entire T20 career so far.
