A/HRC/10/53 page 11 implicated, raising concerns about their independence and impartiality, and about the possible perpetuation of impunity. The terms of reference of the commissions are generally not made public and the families of victims or legal representatives are not kept informed of proceedings. The reports and findings are seldom made public and there is little indication of any action taken by the Government. 40. One such commission was established to investigate one of the most serious incidents, which took place on 8 April, two days before the Constituent Assembly election. APF and NP personnel escorting a Nepali Congress (NC) candidate opened fire on CPN(M) vehicles in Dang district, killing 7 CPN(M) members and injuring at least 12 others. Based on its investigation into the incident, OHCHR Nepal concluded that the deaths constituted extrajudicial and arbitrary executions; it found no evidence to support claims by the APF and NP that they used lethal force in response to fire by CPN(M) members. Following a call by OHCHR Nepal, the Government established a commission on 4 May that included senior officials from the NP and APF. The findings of the commission were not made public and, to OHCHR Nepal’s knowledge, none of the security forces personnel implicated in the incident have been sanctioned to date. (a) Excessive use of force 41. OHCHR Nepal documented 15 deaths caused by excessive use of force in the context of crowd control in 2008 as compared to 27 in 2007. In none of these cases have those responsible been held accountable. In addition to the deaths caused during the Terai protests in March 2008, three persons were killed and at least seven persons injured on 28 May 2008 when a Nepal Police officer opened fire on protestors outside the District Administration Office in Kailali district. In OHCHR Nepal’s assessment, the use of force was excessive; internal disciplinary action was taken against the police officer implicated but there was no attempt to conduct a proper criminal investigation into the incident. 42. Excessive use of force by the Nepal Police was observed in March 2008 when police resorted to lathi-charges and tear gas to disperse peaceful protests in Kathmandu on Tibetan issues. The protests continued over 69 days6 between 10 March and 11 September, during which time a total of 12,958 persons were arrested and, in almost all cases, released the same day. Policing of later demonstrations showed improvement, which may be attributable in part to systematic interventions by OHCHR Nepal with police officials at all levels. (b) Arrest and detention by State authorities 43. In the course of monitoring detention conditions, OHCHR Nepal documented 93 cases of torture and ill-treatment, as well as a number of cases of unlawful detention. Reports of ill-treatment, sometimes amounting to torture are widespread, especially during interrogation. Detainees in police custody, including those who have been abused, often go without medical care, and health examinations are poorly documented. In an effort to reduce the occurrence of 6 Protests were suspended for 10 days during the period of the Constituent Assembly Election and resumed on 15 April. They were suspended again on 1 June to show respect for the victims of the earthquake in China.