Ex-Nepal captain Sandeep Lamichhane sent to 7 days police remand over rape allegations

Days after getting arrested over allegations of raping a minor, former Nepal cricket team skipper Sandeep Lamichhane has been sent on seven days of police remand on Monday. As reported by ANI, the Kathmandu District Court has issued seven days of custody remand to the police against the 22-year-old cricketer. Lamichhane was arrested and taken into custody by the police upon his arrival at the Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu on October 6.

Meanwhile, ANI tweeted revealing the latest development and said, “The Kathmandu District Court has given 7 days custody remand to Police to further investigate the rape-accused Nepali national Cricket team Captain Sandeep Lamichhane. He was presented to the court today”. 

More about the rape allegations against Sandeep Lamichhane

Earlier on September 8, an arrest warrant was issued against Lamichhane after a 17-year-old minor girl leveled allegations of rape. As per the police, the girl had accused Lamichhane of rape in a hotel room in Kathmandu. Lamichhane was plying his trade in the Caribbean Premier League when the allegations were leveled against him. 

Lamichhane put out several social media posts denying any wrongdoing after the accusations were made. In a Facebook post on September 25, Lamichhane claimed that the allegations have affected him both mentally and physically. “I came to know about the complaint filed against me and the false accusation of rape. This has not only affected and damaged my mental health but my physical health as well. All these things affected me mentally on the one hand and, on the other hand, I had to go through physical illness. Therefore, I decided to keep myself in isolation for some time,” he said.

'I hereby reiterate that I am INNOCENT,' Sandeep Lamichhane said before his arrest

In his last Facebook post before the arrest, Lamichhane spoke about recovering from mental stress due to the rape allegations and said, “I hereby reiterate that I am INNOCENT and I have complete non-shaken faith in justice system. I firmly believe over all the law enforcement authorities and honorable courts on their fair trial and adjudication and I am just hopeful to get justice at the earliest.My dear well wishers I assure you all that I am innocent and I have not wronged you”.

Lamichhane made a memorable international debut for Nepal at the age of 16 years old and is one of the biggest talents produced by the country. He has represented Nepal in 30 ODIs and 44 T20Is and has registered 69 and 85 wickets respectively in both formats. He has previously played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Delhi Capitals franchise.