Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
Claim
Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has expressed his readiness to provide justice to Sandeep Lamichhane before T20 World Cup.
Fact
No, Home Minister Lamichhane has not spoken in support of cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane.
A video claiming that Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has said that he is ready to provide justice to Sandeep Lamichhane ahead of T20 World Cup Cricket is going viral on TikTok.
Earlier this year on January 10, the Kathmandu District Court convicted Cricketer Lamichhane and sentenced him to eight years in jail. Lamichhane has lodged an appeal at Patan High Court challenging the Kathmandu District Court’s verdict. According to a fixture released by the International Cricket Council in January, Nepal will begin their 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup against the Netherlands on June 4.
Against this backdrop, TikTok user @sandy_sandeep_king posted a video carrying photos of Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane. Text superimposed on the video reads, “Sincere Thanks, Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has expressed his readiness to provide justice to Sandeep Lamichhane before the T20 World Cup.” The video is accompanied by a melancholic tune in the background.
The video posted on March 12 has garnered 1889 likes, 8 users have shared it and 58 people have commented on it. The archived version of the TikTok video can be seen here.
Newschecker found the claim to be misleading.
Fact Check /Verification
To check the authenticity of the claim made in the viral video, Newschecker searched for news reports regarding Rabi Lamichhane’s remarks regarding cricketer Lamichhane. However, the search didn’t yield any relevant results.
We then checked the verified x (formerly Twitter) handle of Home Minister Rabi and checked if he had ever made any comment regarding Sandeep Lamichhane and the legal battle he is currently embroiled in. However, we didn’t find any post matching the claim.
Further, we reached out to Sandeep Lamichhane’s lawyer Saroj Krishna Ghimire, who told Newscheker that he is not aware of such a remark or assurance by the Home Minister. He added that the final verdict on the case is slated to be announced on April 15.
We also found an article, dated March 15, 2024, published on My Republica online which noted that the district government attorney filed an appeal at Patan High Court, seeking maximum punishment for Sandeep Lamichhane in the rape case against him.
Thus, our findings clearly indicate that the claim made in the viral video is misleading.
Conclusion
No, Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane hasn’t made any remarks in favour of Sandeep Lamichhane or assured to provide justice to him before the commencement of the T20 World Cup. The viral video is false.
Result: False
Sources
Espn Cricinfo, Jan 10, 2024
My Republica, March 15, 2024
Rabi Lamichhane /X (Formerly Twitter)
Direct contact with Sandeep Lamichhne’s Lawyer
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Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
