Ex-Nepal Cricket Team Captain Sandeep Lamichhane Sent To 7-day Police Remand Over Rape Allegations

Kathmandu: Sandeep Lamichhane, the former Nepal cricket team captain, has been sent on seven days of police remand over allegations of raping a minor.

Notably, Lamichhane was taken into custody upon arriving at the Tribhuvan International Airport on Thursday, following an arrest order.

On September 8, a court in Nepal issued an arrest warrant for national cricket team captain Lamichhane after a 17-year-old girl alleged that he raped her in a hotel room in Kathmandu, police said.

When the warrant was issued, he was participating in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), and was also Nepal cricket team’s captain.

According to the case filed at the Police Circle Gaushala here, Lamichhane, 22, allegedly took the girl to various places in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur for a visit on August 21 and raped her in a hotel in Kathmandu the same night.

Last month, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) suspended Lamichhane from the team to facilitate the investigation into the allegation labelled against him.

Lamichhane is Nepal’s most high-profile cricketer, and the first cricketer from Nepal to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He made his debut for the Delhi Capitals franchise in 2018.