Lawmakers taking part in the discussion said provisions in the bill were aimed at putting an end to torture and discrimination. The bill was registered in the Parliament Secretariat after the arrest of Nepal Army Colonel Kumar Lama in the United Kingdom in 2013. As a signatory to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Nepal is supposed to criminalise the act of torture. After deliberation in the committee, the bill will be tabled in the House for endorsement. Putting forth his views, CPN-UML lawmaker Chudamani BK Jangali said the bill has several provisions that will help criminalise the discrimination and mental torture the people from some communities are facing for centuries. He said that some six million Dalits in the country have been facing one or another kind of discrimination with no compensation for them and action against the perpetrators. The bill criminalises torture in custody, spelling out five-year jail term for the perpetrators, including the official who orders the crime. (PR)