Crime

The Kathmandu District Court has granted Nepal Police seven-day remand of Nepal national cricket team captain Sandeep Lamichhane to investigate a rape allegation against him.

The police produced the cricketer before the court on Monday, as the court has remained closed until Sunday for Dashain holidays.

The police remand takes effect from October 6, when Lamichhane was arrested at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) upon his arrival from Doha. The cricketer has been lodged in the Gaushala Police Circle since. Under Nepali law, the police can request the court more time for investigation.

The court’s permission allows the police to carry out further investigation into the rape allegation. 
A 17-year-old girl had filed a police complaint on September 6, charging Lamichhane with rape. In her complaint, the 17-year-old girl has charged him of raping her multiple times on the night of August 21.

Two days after the complaint registration, the police obtained a warrant from the Kathmandu District Court for his arrest, leading to his suspension from the national cricket team.

The 22-year-old cricketer, who was in Jamaica to fulfil his contract as a professional player in the Caribbean Premier League, denied the charges levelled against him. But he failed to return to Nepal.

With no response from the cricketer forthcoming two weeks after the court warrant, Interpol, on the recommendation of the Nepali Police, issued a diffusion notice against him.

The following day, Lamichhane left Kathmandu to play a bilateral cricket series in Kenya. He then headed to the West Indies to play T20 professional cricket.

Lamichhane has been a poster boy for the rise of cricket in Nepal, who gained one-day international status from the game's world governing body in 2018.

The leg spinner shot to fame when the Delhi Capitals roped him in for the lucrative Indian Premier League in 2018.

Also Read: Cricketer Lamichhane arrested upon arrival at TIA