Former national cricket team captain Sandeep Lamichhane will be released today after Patan High Court on Thursday ordered his release on bail of Rs 2 million.
Thagindra Kattel, the registrar of the Patan High Court, said that a joint bench of judges Dhruva Raj Nanda and Ramesh Dhakal decided to release Lamichhane on bail to allow him to fight the legal battle staying outside the jail.
After spending more than three months behind bars, Lamichhane will be able to leave the jail on bail today.
The court granted Lamichhane bail after it was assured that he would neither contact the girl who accused him of rape and also would not try to abscond.
Lamichhane will have to take special permission from Kathmandu District Administration Office even to leave Kathmandu Valley and his conversations on mobile phones will be recorded. In case he attempts to violate any of these restrictions, the police can rearrest him.
On 6 September 2022, a police case was filed against Sandeep, accusing him of raping a 17-year-old minor girl. Lamichhane pleaded via social media claiming his innocence but disappeared for two weeks until an Interpol diffusion notice was issued against him. However, he surrendered himself after a month on October 6 as the situation turned against his favor.
Earlier, the Kathmandu district court had sent Lamichhane to judicial custody.
