Lamichchane acquitted of rape by Patan Court

The Patan High Court issuing a verdict gave clean cheat to cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane in a teenager rape case. Sandeep was acquitted on Wednesday by a joint bench of High Court Judges Sudarshan Dev Bhatt and Anju Upreti Dhakal overturning the decision of Kathmandu District Court. Hours after the verdict, the National Cricket Association (CAN) revoked his suspension so that he can return to the game following the clean cheat. If the ICC agrees to CAN’s request to have his suspension lifted, he could play in the World Cup. Four months ago, CAN had suspended Sandeep from playing in any domestic and international game after he was found guilty in the rape case by the Kathmandu District Court.

Cricketer Lamichhane was found guilty by the Kathmandu district court on December 29. Judge Shishir Raj Dhakal’s bench decided the sentence on 10th January and sentenced Lamichhane to eight years imprisonment and a fine of 3 lakhs. In addition, the defendant also ordered to pay an additional compensation of two lakh rupees to the victim.

The jail term and penalty were determined considering the age of Gaushala-26 (the name given to the victim), the social status of the accused when the incident happened and the mental stress the victim had to suffer. The court, however, dismissed the victim’s claim that she was a minor at the time of the incident. The court also refused to accept the birth dates mentioned in her academic documents, which show she was 17 at the time of the incident. Not satisfied with the order, the district attorney and Lamichhane had moved the high court. While the district attorney had challenged the decision that refused to accept the victim as a minor, Lamichhane had denied the charge and demanded acquittal. The high court has now passed a verdict as demanded by Lamichhane. 

After the verdict, Lamichhane said that he was deceived and said that he will now return to cricket. “He was convicted of a crime that was not committed At last we have arrived here. I respect this decision,” Lamichhane said. He said that he will take Nepali cricket to the top. A large number of his supporters gathered in front of the court. Twenty three year old Lamichhane, has been the face of cricket in Nepal and the only player from the Himalayan country to take part in prominent T-20 leagues in India, Australia, Pakistan and the West Indies. In 2022, he was accused of raping a young woman in a hotel in Kathmandu and taken into custody after police issued an arrest warrant for him.