In what comes as a shocker for cricket fans, Nepal’s star leg-spinner Sandeep Lamicchane has been accused of raping a minor. The incident came into focus after the alleged victim, aged 17, lodged a complaint against the cricketer to Kathmandu police. The Nepal cricket team captain is currently playing in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and is yet to speak on the matter.
According to a report on onlinekhabar.com, Kathmandu Valley Police Office chief Rabindra Prasad Dhanuk has confirmed that the minor has been sent for a health check-up and an investigation has been launched.
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“The police are sensitive to such serious incidents. We have made the supposed survivor undergo a health check-up and launched an investigation,” says Rabindra Prasad Dhanuk, the Kathmandu Valley Police Office chief.
Nepal Police starts investigation over alleged rape complaint against Nepali national Cricket team Captain Sandeep Lamichhane, after a minor aged 17 lodged the case, stated Nepal Police in a statement
(Photo courtesy: Sandeep Lamichhane’s Twitter handle) pic.twitter.com/3HK386a6n5
— ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2022
According to the report, the teenage girl claimed that she was a fan of Lamichhane and used to talk to him via WhatsApp and Snapchat. She said it was the cricketer who first proposed a meeting.
According to the police report, Sandeep Lamichhane asked her to go on a trip on the eve of the Nepal cricket team’s Kenya departure on September 22. She couldn’t return to her hostel as the gates get closed by 8 pm and was compelled to stay in a Kathmandu hotel.
Sandeep Lamichhane is a renowned figure in the global cricketing circle. He burst into the scene after making debut for his unofficial team in 2015 against an MCC squad. The next year, made headlines in 2016 after bagging a five-wicket haul against Ireland in the U-19 World Cup.
A couple of years later, in 2018, he bagged the Man of the Tournament award in the ICC World Cricket League Division 2. The same year, he became the first player from Nepal to be drafted into the Caribbean Premier League, signed St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, and also bagged an IPL contract, from Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). Till date, he remains the first-ever player from his country to have participated in the Indian Premier League.
He played 30 ODI and 44 T20I for Nepal, picking up 69 wickets and 85 wickets respectively.
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