Sandeep Lamichhane sentenced 8-year jail term in rape case

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Sandeep Lamichhane, the former captain of Nepal cricket team, has been handed an 8-year jail term in a rape case against him. He was convicted for raping in December last year.

The bench of Shishir Raj Dhakal handed over the verdict along with compensation and penalties after a hearing today, confirms court official Ramu Sharma. Sandeep Lamichhane has also been ordered to pay a court fine of 300,000 Nepalese rupees ($2,255) and a further 200,000 rupees ($1,500) to the victim “considering the mental impact” his attack had on her.

He was not present in the court at the time the sentence was passed. Lamichhane's lawyer, Saroj Ghimire, told AFP he "will appeal the decision in a higher court". Contrary to the claims of the victim that she was a minor when raped, the court in a previous ruling said that she was 18.

The 23-year-old leg-spinner is Nepal's most high-profile cricketer, and the first cricketer from Nepal to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when he made his debut for the Delhi Capitals franchise in 2018. He has also played in the Big Bash League (BBL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and the Men's Hundred in England. He was part of the Nepal team in the Asia Cup 2023.

Lamichhne was out on bail. On January 12, 2023 the Patan High Court had ordered the release of the cricketer. Responding to a review petition filed by Lamichhane, a joint bench of judges Dhruva Raj Nanda and Ramesh Dahal ordered Lamichhane's release on a bail bond of Rs 2 million with conditions.

The Kathmandu District Court on November 4, 2022, had passed the order to send Lamichhane to the Sundhara-based central jail after a detention hearing. Lamichhane had moved the high court challenging the order.

The Kathmandu District Attorney's Office filed a case against Lamichhane accusing him of raping the girl on August 21. The victim had filed a case against the cricketer on September 6 at the Metropolitan Police Circle, Gaushala.

Nepal Police arrested him on October 6 at Tribhuvan International Airport on his return from Trinidad & Tobago where he played in the Caribbean Premier League.

Through the chargesheet, the district attorney had demanded compensation from Lamichhane for the victim's alleged physical and mental torture. After the charge sheet was filed, Lamichhane's bank account and property were frozen.

A wily leg-spinner, armed with a vicious googly, he was a much sought-after cricketer in other big-ticket T20 leagues around the world, including the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and the CPL.

The prodigiously gifted cricketer holds the record for 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 this year when he played against Kenya in a T20I encounter.