Sandeep Lamichhane, who has been accused of raping a minor, has not returned to Nepal and is currently out of contact.
Nepal Police spokesperson, SSP Daan Bahadur Karki said, “The police are investigating the complaint registered against him. After the accusation, he was expected to come under the legal sphere and defend himself, however instead the accused, who was abroad when the complaint was filed, hasn’t returned to Nepal yet.”
The police failed to bring him to Nepal immediately after registration of the complaint and even publicly announced details such as adding him to ‘blacklist’ which should have been kept confidential.
As Sandeep is currently out-of-contact, the police investigation is being delayed. Hence, the Nepal Police headquarters have sought help from Interpol regarding the case.
A complaint was filed against the Nepali national cricket team captain Lamichhane, under the charges of a rape of a 17-year-old minor on September 6.
The Kathmandu District Court issued an arrest warrant against Sandeep on September 9, following which the Nepal Cricket Association (CAN) suspended Lamichhane from the national team.
On the same date he took to Facebook and Twitter to claim that he is innocent and will return to Nepal to fight the legal battle. However, he has been out of contact since then and neither the Cricket Association nor Nepal Police know his current whereabouts.
It is speculated that he is in discussions with lawyers abroad to defend himself from the charges filed against him.
