Former Nepal captain Sandeep Lamichhane in custody on account of rape charges

Former Nepal captain SandeepLamichhane returned to his country, on Thursday (October 06), in order to fight the rape charges levied upon him nearly a month ago. Lamichhane, who has denied all the charges, was immediately taken into custody, as per Dinesh Raj Mainali -- a spokesman for Kathmandu district policeinformed news agency AFP.

Earlier, the wily spinner Lamichhane had informed about his return to his country via a post on his Facebook page and stated that he was ready to fight all charges."I will fully cooperate in all stages of the investigation and will fight legal battle to prove my innocence. Let the justice prevail," Lamichhane had posted.

The serious charges levied upon Lamichhane led to his suspensionas Nepal's captain after a country's courtissued an arrest warrant on September 8. It followed an accusation from a teenager that the 22-year-old spinner had raped her in a Kathmandu hotel room two months back.

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Before his arrival in Nepal, Lamicchane finally broke his silence on the rape charges and wrote on Facebook, "With great hope and strength, I hereby confirm that I am reaching to my home country, Nepal on this 6th October 2022 and will submit myself to the authority of Nepal to fight a legal battle against false allegation."

"I hereby reiterate that I am INNOCENT and I have complete non-shaken faith in justice system. I firmly believe over all the law enforcement authorities and honorable courts on their fair trial and adjudication and I am just hopeful to get justice at the earliest. My dear well-wishers I assure you all that I am innocent and I have not wronged you. I have recovered from unpleasant situation I went through and I have prepared myself to go through this ordeal to prove myself innocent and victim of conspiracy. I am sure all wrongful allegation charged against me will be unfolded by the span of time," he added.

It is to be noted that Lamichhane is an integral member of the Nepal cricket team, having also captained the side before the serious chargesled to his suspension from the post. His breakthrough moment came when he became the first-ever cricketer from Nepal to feature in the IPL (for the Delhi Capitals). He, however, has not been able to be a regular in the cash-rich league. Nonetheless, his entry into the IPL led to him becoming a prominent face in T20 leagues across the globe.

For Nepal, the 22-year-old has accounted for 69 and 85 wickets, in ODIs and T20Is respectively.