‘I am innocent’- Rape accussed Sandeep Lamichhane denies charges, is ready to face ‘baseless allegations’

The Cricket world was shocked by the news of Sandeep Lamichhane having been accused of rape by a 17-year-old girl on Thursday. Following a complaint lodged in a Kathmandu Police station, the Cricket Association of Nepal suspended their captain. An arrest warrant was also issued by the Kathmandu police over the alleged case of coercion.

The teenage girl filed a complaint alleging that Lamichhane raped her in a hotel room in Kathmandu last month after they met and went out. Recently Lamichhane has come out and denied rape charges with a Twitter post.

The Twitter post made by Lamichhane read, “I am INNOCENT & keep complete belief in the respectable laws of Nepal. I have decided to take a leave from CPL and go back to my country within a few days. I am ready to face all these baseless allegations. May justice be served to the innocent & right investigation to be done.”

Lamichhane was playing for the Caribbean Premier League team Jamaica Tallawahs but hadn’t featured in any of the matches so far. Following the complaint, he had to show up in front of the Nepal police for further questioning.

Sandeep has been a poster boy for Nepal Cricket and has done increasingly well in recent years. The leg spinner came into the limelight after he was picked up by the Indian T20 League team Delhi ahead of the 2018 edition. Since then he has been the most popular and sought-after Nepali cricketer.

Rape cases on rise in Nepal

Earlier, a popular Nepali actor Paul Shah was convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor and given a sentence of two and a half years in prison. Shah has also been asked to pay compensation to the victim.

Nepal has been marred with 2300 rape cases in the last year according to police. Human rights organisations report this number to be much higher as most rape cases go unreported. The sexual violence laws have been made stricter following protests in Kathmandu earlier this year.