Kathmandu District Court on Thursday Star. extended the custody of cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane is investigating the rape allegations for five days.
Lamichhane, who was earlier arrested at Tribhuvan International Airport on October 6, has been in police custody since then. Earlier, the deadline for the investigation regarding the star cricketer ended on October 12.
“Police had requested for additional seven days’ custody for investigation and further statement. We had requested the honorable court that seven days would be long and one-way investigation is already over, so we have given three days’ custody. Asked for time but the court extended the custody by five days. The new deadline is Ashwin’s expiry, October 17. Again Kartik’s first on October 18, he will be produced before the court. We hope that the police will complete their investigation and Will bring its final report of the investigation, Sandeep Lamichhane’s lawyer Saroj Krishna Ghimire told reporters.
The Kathmandu district court had on October 13 granted seven days’ custody for investigation to cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, who was arrested on charges of rape. Lamichhane is claiming innocence in court.
A teenager has accused Sandeep of rape. The police will be able to take Sandeep into custody for a maximum period of 24 days for investigation. A 17-year-old girl filed a case accusing Lamichhane of taking her to various places in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur all day on August 21 and brought her to a hotel in Kathmandu’s Sinamangal where she was raped the same night.
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A diffusion notice was also issued from Interpol (International Criminal Police Organisation) as he was unknown from his location since the case was registered against him.
The Kathmandu District Court has also issued an arrest warrant against her for raping a 17-year-old minor, with the Himalayan nation’s immigration department blacklisting her.
Last year, leg-spinner Lamichhane was appointed captain of the Nepal cricket team. Lamichhane first captained the Nepal Under-19 team during the 2016 Asia Cup and then in 2017 for the Asian Cricket Council World Cup qualifiers. He has also played in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
On the other hand, after receiving the complaint, the police have started investigation under section 219 of the National Penal (Code) Act, 2017.
The National Penal (Code) Act, 2017 has made the offense of rape an offense under Chapter 18, Section 219. Section 219(2) defines rape as “where any person has sex with a woman without her consent or with a girl child below the age of eighteen years, with her consent, that person commits such woman or girl child.” would be considered a rapist.”
Section 219(2)(a) states that consent obtained by coercion, undue influence, intimidation, intimidation, misinterpretation, or kidnapping or hostage shall not be deemed to be consent. Further, section 219(2)(b) stipulates that consent obtained at the time of mental illness shall not be deemed to be consent. If convicted, Lamichhane could face 10 to 12 years in prison.
