Kathmandu, June 17 :

Some 405 teens are languishing in prison alongside hardened criminals. Aside from those charged with some offence, 161 are in jail without any charge.

A 14-year old boy was arrested for breaking a musical instrument while playing in school. He was fined Rs 2,000 by the Chief District Officer (CDO) of the district. The boy’s family, however, couldn’t pay the fine. The CDO sentenced the boy to two years in prison. The highlighted excerpt of a report — Assessment of Children and Young Persons in Prison, Correction Home and Police Custody — in Nepal indicated the gravity of problem regarding the arrest of children and torture inflicted on them in detention centres and police custody. The report made public yesterday by the United Nations Children’s Fund has also made recommendations to the authorities concerned to protect children and teenagers in detention centres from inhuman treatment.

The study conducted in selected 11 districts across the country found that 405 children and young persons are in police custody, correction centres and prisons.