NEW DELHI: A Nepali courtroom on Wednesday handed down an eight-year jail sentence to former cricket captain Sandeep Lamichhane on expenses of rape.
As soon as the face of cricket in Nepal at 23, Lamichhane’s on-field prowess elevated the game’s standing within the Himalayan republic.
In 2022, he confronted accusations of raping a younger lady in a Kathmandu lodge, securing launch on bail to rejoin the squad for worldwide tournaments.
Regardless of a trial delay, he was convicted in December, and on Wednesday, his sentence was pronounced.
“The courtroom has sentenced him for eight years,” Kathmandu district courtroom official Ramu Sharma informed AFP.
He was additionally ordered to pay a courtroom tremendous of 300,000 Nepalese rupees ($2,255) and an extra 200,000 rupees ($1,500) to the sufferer “contemplating the psychological influence” his assault had on her.
Lamichhane, who will not be in custody, was not in courtroom for the sentencing.
His lawyer, Saroj Ghimire, informed AFP he “will attraction the choice in a better courtroom”.
The sufferer had stated she was a minor when she was raped, however the courtroom in a earlier ruling stated that she was 18.
Lamichhane persistently denied the cost towards him and loved robust public help regardless of the accusation.
When authorities issued an arrest warrant, Lamichhane initially did not return from Jamaica, the place he was enjoying within the Caribbean Premier League.
He was dismissed as nationwide captain and arrested, however Nepal lifted his enjoying ban after he was freed on bail.
This allowed him to stay on the nationwide group, together with for the World Cup qualifiers and the 2023 Asia Cup.
A whole bunch of cheering cricket followers welcomed him when he first returned to the sector in February final yr.
However his continued enjoying profession has additionally sparked anger and induced quite a few Nepalis to disavow the group.
Scotland’s cricketers refused to shake fingers with him after their matches throughout a world event in Dubai.
Cricket doesn’t get pleasure from the identical adulation in mountainous Nepal because it does elsewhere in South Asia.
But it surely has been rising in recognition, with Nepal given one-day worldwide standing by the world governing physique in 2018.
Lamichhane was a significant a part of this rise as essentially the most sought-after Nepali cricketer in profitable leagues world wide.
The leg spinner’s large break got here when he was snapped up for the profitable Indian Premier League, the world’s richest cricket event, in 2018.
About 2,300 rape instances had been reported in Nepal within the 2021-22 fiscal yr, in response to police, however rights staff say many extra assaults go unreported.
Solely a handful of girls in Nepal spoke out in the course of the MeToo motion, and people accused have confronted little or no repercussions over the allegations.
(With AFP Inputs)
As soon as the face of cricket in Nepal at 23, Lamichhane’s on-field prowess elevated the game’s standing within the Himalayan republic.
In 2022, he confronted accusations of raping a younger lady in a Kathmandu lodge, securing launch on bail to rejoin the squad for worldwide tournaments.
Regardless of a trial delay, he was convicted in December, and on Wednesday, his sentence was pronounced.
“The courtroom has sentenced him for eight years,” Kathmandu district courtroom official Ramu Sharma informed AFP.
He was additionally ordered to pay a courtroom tremendous of 300,000 Nepalese rupees ($2,255) and an extra 200,000 rupees ($1,500) to the sufferer “contemplating the psychological influence” his assault had on her.
Lamichhane, who will not be in custody, was not in courtroom for the sentencing.
His lawyer, Saroj Ghimire, informed AFP he “will attraction the choice in a better courtroom”.
The sufferer had stated she was a minor when she was raped, however the courtroom in a earlier ruling stated that she was 18.
Lamichhane persistently denied the cost towards him and loved robust public help regardless of the accusation.
When authorities issued an arrest warrant, Lamichhane initially did not return from Jamaica, the place he was enjoying within the Caribbean Premier League.
He was dismissed as nationwide captain and arrested, however Nepal lifted his enjoying ban after he was freed on bail.
This allowed him to stay on the nationwide group, together with for the World Cup qualifiers and the 2023 Asia Cup.
A whole bunch of cheering cricket followers welcomed him when he first returned to the sector in February final yr.
However his continued enjoying profession has additionally sparked anger and induced quite a few Nepalis to disavow the group.
Scotland’s cricketers refused to shake fingers with him after their matches throughout a world event in Dubai.
Cricket doesn’t get pleasure from the identical adulation in mountainous Nepal because it does elsewhere in South Asia.
But it surely has been rising in recognition, with Nepal given one-day worldwide standing by the world governing physique in 2018.
Lamichhane was a significant a part of this rise as essentially the most sought-after Nepali cricketer in profitable leagues world wide.
The leg spinner’s large break got here when he was snapped up for the profitable Indian Premier League, the world’s richest cricket event, in 2018.
About 2,300 rape instances had been reported in Nepal within the 2021-22 fiscal yr, in response to police, however rights staff say many extra assaults go unreported.
Solely a handful of girls in Nepal spoke out in the course of the MeToo motion, and people accused have confronted little or no repercussions over the allegations.
(With AFP Inputs)
