Nepal cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane has been sentenced to eight years in jail by a Nepal court in connection with the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl. Lamichhane was convicted of rape last month following several delays. The verdict of 8 years imprisonment, along with compensation and penalties, was handed down by the bench of Shishir Raj Dhakal after a hearing today.
“The court has sentenced him for eight years,” Kathmandu district court official Ramu Sharma has been quoted as telling AFP.
Sandeep Lamichhane, 23, Nepal’s most prominent cricketer and the first player from the country to participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Delhi Capitals in 2018, has been fined Rs 3,00,000 and sentenced to eight years in prison by a Nepal court. Additionally, the court ordered Lamichhane to pay Rs 2,00,000 in compensation to the victim, identified as Gushala-26.
The Kathmandu District Court had convicted Lamichhane of rape on December 29, 2022, based on an incident that occurred in a Tilganga-based hotel on August 21, 2022. The sentencing was determined in a hearing on January 12.
Earlier, on January 12, the Patan High Court had ordered Lamichhane’s release in response to a review petition he had filed. The joint bench of judges, Dhruva Raj Nanda and Ramesh Dahal, granted his release on a bail bond of Rs 20 lakh with certain conditions.
The victim, a 17-year-old minor, had filed a case against Lamichhane on September 6, leading to an investigation by Nepal Police under Section 219 of the National Penal Act, 2017. Lamichhane was arrested on October 6, 2022, at the Tribhuvan International Airport upon returning from Trinidad & Tobago, where he participated in the Caribbean Premier League.
