Kathmandu - A leading international human rights organization asked the Nepalese government Wednesday to take urgent steps to end what it called the widespread abuse and torture of children in police custody.

US-based Human Rights Watch said it had documented more than 200 cases of torture or abuse by Nepalese police against boys and girls detained on suspicion of crimes in the first 10 months of 2008.

The group said some of the children were as young as 13.

"Sometimes, the torture is inflicted to extract confessions from the children while at other times it appears to be carried out purely for the entertainment of the official," said Bede Sheppard, a researcher for Human Rights Watch.

According to the rights group, the most common methods of torture on children included kicking, fist blows to the body and inserting metal nails under children's toenails.

"The Nepali police have a duty to protect children and to prevent crime," Sheppard said. "Instead, by torturing children in custody, they are committing crimes against those they are supposed to be protecting."

Human Rights Watch also expressed concern about the conditions children face while in custody.

"Children are generally not separated from adults while in detention as required under international law and thus face a greater risk of being assaulted by other prisoners," it said.

The group said that despite the widespread nature of abuses against children in police custody, no government official has been prosecuted for the torture of children under the Children's Act.

Torture is prohibited under Nepal's constitution, but many offenders escape punishment because of a conflicting clause in the country's penal code that does not recognize torture as a crime.

The torture of children, however, is illegal under the Children's Act although the maximum penalty is one year in prison and a fine. (dpa)