By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – The Patan High Court on Thursday ordered the release of Sandeep Lamichhane, the suspended captain of the National Cricket team who is in pre-trial detention on the charge of raping a minor, on bail.
The bench of High Court judges Dhruvaraj Bhattarai and Ramesh Dhakal overturned the Kathmandu district court’s order and ordered Lamichhane to be released on bail. The court has demanded a bail amount of NRs. 2 Million in cash.
The court has further implemented some restrictions on him. He is not allowed to speak regarding his case either on Social Media or on media. Likewise, he is prohibited to speak or meet the petitioner. However, he is not forbidden to play cricket.
The complaint was filed against Sandeep on the charge of raping a minor girl on September 6 at Police Circle Gaushala. An arrest warrant against him was issued by the Kathmandu District Court on September 8 for further investigation on the offense of ‘No coercion’ under Section 219 of Chapter 18 of the Civil Crimes (Code) Act, 2074.
According to the initial investigation, It has been found that Sandeep took the 17-year-old girl to various places in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur on August 21 and repeatedly molested the girl at 12:25 AM in room number 305 of a hotel located in Kathmandu District Metropolitan City 9. The CC Tv footage showed that Sandeep checked in to the hotel at 11:55 PM.
The District Court of Kathmandu on November 4, 2022, ordered to send Sandeep behind the bars until the final hearing of the case.
