Image Credit- Getty
After proceedings that began on Sunday, a single-judge
bench of the Kathmandu District Court found Sandeep Lamichhane guilty of a
sexual crime, according to the Kathmandu Post.
Contrary to early reports, the victim was not a kid at
the time of the assault, according to the court’s ruling. Lamichhane’s
punishment will be decided at the next hearing on the case. Lamichhane is now
free on bond.
In a Nepal Pro Club Championship game played in
Birgunj on Friday, the day of his conviction, Lamichhane had guided PARSA Club
XI to victory over Nepal Army Club.
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.
Shortly before being arrested, Lamichhane had written
on Facebook that he would “fully cooperate in all stages of the
investigation and will fight a legal battle to prove my innocence” and
called it a “conspiracy and wrongful allegation”.
In February of this year, he rejoined the Nepal team
despite domestic protests from rights groups for a home tri-series match
against Namibia and Scotland in the Cricket World Cup League 2. During the
match, not a single player from the other sides shook his hand. 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 kept up his Nepali appearances, which have included
the ODI Asia Cup and the Zimbabwean World Cup qualifier.