KATHMANDU: Social media in Nepal is abuzz with the rape case related to suspended national team captain Sandeep Lamichhane. He was also blacklisted by the Immigration Department on Sunday after a rape case was filed against him by a 17-year-old minor girl.

Social media is buzzing with sympathies and denouncement of cricketer Lamichhane.

Adding to this debate, actress, model and former journalist Rima Bishwakarma expressed her reaction through social media.

Posting a status on Facebook, she expressed displeasure over the blacklisting of Lamichhane by the Immigration Department.

She wrote on Facebook on Monday, “Sandeep Lamichhane is guilty or innocent, that is to be known only after the investigation. If he is guilty, he should be punished according to the laws of the land, criminals should not be freed under any circumstances. But how fair is it to blacklist an international-level national player based on allegations and first information report?”

She viewed that the authorities were reacting to the case as if Lamichhane is already proven guilty.

By taking a screenshot of the actress’ post, Scientific Socialist Communist Party central member Mahabir Bishwakarma, countered Rima’s statement.

Mahabir has reacted on his Facebook, “What kind of comment is this? Blacklisting denotes that people are to be arrested by the police. Isn’t Lamichhane the one to be arrested at the moment? Why is it hurting when his name is blacklisted?”

He further wrote, “Lamichhane has now been accused of rape. Whether he is an international cricketer or a very rich young man, his ancestral inheritance, his property, what kind of car he drives, how expensive coffee he drinks, which celebrities on his side… these things do not matter to the law.”