Lamichhane arrested over rape charges

Cricket star Sandeep Lamichhane returned to Nepal and was immediately arrested Thursday, nearly a month after a court issued a warrant over the alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl.

Lamichhane, a poster boy for the growing popularity of cricket in Nepal, was taken into custody when he landed, Dinesh Raj Mainali, a spokesman for Kathmandu district police, told AFP.

Wearing a white hoodie, black cap and black mask, he was swiftly escorted out of Kathmandu airport to a police van waiting outside. 

Earlier Lamichhane had posted on his Facebook page that he was returning home to fight the accusations.

“I will fully cooperate in all stages of investigation and will fight (the) legal battle to prove my innocence. Let the justice prevail,” Lamichhane posted.

Lamichhane, 22, was suspended as Nepal’s cricket captain after a court in the country issued the arrest warrant on September 8. It followed an accusation from the 17-year-old that the cricketer had raped her in a Kathmandu hotel room in August. – AFP