Lamichhane innocent till proven guilty, says his lawyer

By Bipin Dani

Sandeep Lamichhane is becoming the first Nepalese cricketer to spend at least three nights in police custody.

The 22-year-old leg-break googly bowler, who has been facing rape allegations from a 17-year-old girl, was arrested immediately after he disembarked from a Qatar Airways flight at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Thursday at around 10 in the morning. Sandeep surrendered himself and was handcuffed from the airport to the police station, though he had requested not to be hand-cuffed.

“He has been sent to the Gaushala Jail, which is near Nepal’s most sacred Hindu Temple, Pashupatinath”, one of the cricket sources in Nepal revealed. “He will remain in police custody until he is produced before court on Sunday. We have Dussehra holidays till Friday and the court is closed on Saturday. We will come to know only on Sunday whether the court extends the police custody or grants bail. He is under trial now”, the source further added. Shortly before his arrest Lamichhane had promised on social media that he would fully cooperate in the investigation.

He has hired the services of a prominent lawyer Saroj Ghimire.  He said, “Our court will hear the case on Sunday. The case has not reached a bail stage. The person is innocent till proven guilty”.

“Our primary concern was why Sandeep was hand-cuffed. He is not an individual but a player of an institution (Cricket Association of Nepal).