Nepal court awards 8-yrs jail term to cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane in rape case

A Nepali court on Wednesday awarded an eight-term jail term to the country's star cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane in a rape case, reported news agency ANI. The verdict was announced by a bench of Shishir Raj Dhakal. Lamichhane, former national cricket team captain of Nepal, was convicted by a court of raping a minor in December last year.

Lamichhane is Nepal's most high-profile cricketer, and the first cricketer from Nepal to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when he made his debut for the Delhi Capitals franchise in 2018. He was arrested in October 2022 after a 17-year-old girl alleged that he raped her in a hotel room in Kathmandu in August of that year. However, he was released by a court in January 2023. 

In December, a single bench of Judge Shishir Raj Dhakal passed the order following the conclusion of the final hearings. The court convicted him of rape. 

At the time of his conviction, Lamichhne was out on bail. On January 12, the Patan High Court ordered the release of the cricketer on a bail bond of Rs 2 million with conditions.

In November 2022, the Kathmandu District Court passed the order to send Lamichhane to the Sundhara-based central jail after a detention hearing. The cricketer had moved the high court challenging the order.

The Nepal Police arrested him on October 6 at Tribhuvan International Airport on his return from Trinidad & Tobago where he played in the Caribbean Premier League. Through the chargesheet, the district attorney had demanded compensation from Lamichhane for the victim's alleged physical and mental torture. After the charge sheet was filed, Lamichhane's bank account and property were frozen.

A leg-spinner, Lamichhane was a much sought-after cricketer in other big-ticket T20 leagues around the world, including the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia, the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and the CPL. He holds the record for the world's second-fastest bowler to capture 50 ODI wickets and the third-fastest to race to 50 T20I wickets. Lamichhane's last international appearance came in August this year when he played against Kenya in a T20I encounter.

(With inputs from PTI)