Former Nepal cricket team captain Sandeep Lamichhane has been convicted of rape by the Kathmandu District Court. After the culmination of the final hearings, which started on Sunday, a single bench of judge Shishir Raj Dhakal passed the order, reported the Kathmandu Post. However, the court ruled that the survivor was not a minor at the time of the rape. (Cricket News)
In the next hearing, the court will ascertain the jail term for the international cricketer, the report said. Lamichhane is currently out on bail. On January 12, the Patan High Court had ordered the release of the cricketer.
A joint bench of judges Dhruva Raj Nanda and Ramesh Dahal had ordered Lamichhane's release on a bail bond of Rs 2 million with conditions, in response to a review petition filed by the cricketer.
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On November 4, 2022, the Kathmandu District Court had passed the order to send Lamichhane to the Sundhara-based central jail after a detention hearing. The 23-year-old leg-spinner had moved the high court challenging the order.
Lamichhane was arrested after a young woman alleged that he raped her in a Kathmandu hotel room in August 2022. He is Nepal's most high-profile cricketer, and the first player from Nepal to play in the Indian Premier League when he made his debut for the Delhi Capitals franchise in 2018.
The cricketer holds the record for being 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 2023, when he played against Kenya in a T20I encounter.
