Image Credit- Getty
A Kathmandu court has sentenced Sandeep Lamichhane to
eight years in prison for rape, according to the Kathmandu Post.
The Nepal legspinner was found guilty of raping an
18-year-old lady by a single-judge panel of the Kathmandu District Court last
month. The sentencing was made public on January 10.
In addition, the bench fined him roughly Rs. 300,000
(USD 2255) and mandated that he pay the victim approximately Rs. 200,000 (USD
1500). Saroj Ghimire, Lamichhane’s attorney, informed AFP that his client
“will appeal the decision in a higher court.”
The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) suspended
Lamichhane, the captain of Nepal at the time, in early September of last year
after a Kathmandu arrest warrant was issued for his arrest. It happened when
word spread that Lamichhane was the subject of a complaint filed with a
Kathmandu police station.
Lamichhane was playing for the Jamaica Tallawahs in
the CPL 2022 while he was in the West Indies. Lamichhane’s instant withdrawal
from the tournament was announced by the club. When he had arrived at the
Kathmandu airport in early October, he had been arrested.
Lamichhane had wrote on Facebook shortly before he was
taken into custody, calling it a “conspiracy and wrongful allegation”
and promising to “fully cooperate in all stages of the investigation and
will fight a legal battle to prove my innocence”.
In February of this year, he rejoined the Nepal team
for a home Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series against Namibia and Scotland,
which was met with protests by domestic rights groups. During the series,
players from the other teams refused to shake his hand after the matches. He
was then left out of Nepal’s roster for the Cricket World Cup League 2
tri-series in Dubai in early 2023, although he later returned to the team as a
replacement due to injury. Since then, he has played for Nepal once more, appearing
in the ODI Asia Cup in August and September of last year as well as the ODI
World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe in June and July.
On the day of his conviction, December 29, Lamichhane
had led PARSA Club XI to a win over Nepal Army Club in a Nepal Pro Club
Championship match in Birgunj.