Police are investigating into the death of a 12-year-old boy who died after stepping onto an electric wire allegedly set up by hunters to trap animals at Shivashakti Community Forest in Dhangadhi, Kailali.

Aman Chaudhary,12, was electrocuted after he came in contact with a wire that had been connected to a nearby high tension line. Aman’s friends—Arjun Kathayat,13, Sagar Paneru,12, and Nabin Kathayat, 12— were injured while trying to rescue him. DSP Bir Bahadur Budha on Monday said the wire was deliberately set up, hidden among the foliage, by hunters.

Police are after the group that had set up the trap, he added.

Nabin, who has returned home after receiving treatment at Seti Zonal Hospital, said Aman was caught in the trap while the four friends were approaching a tree where they had seen a bird’s nest. “Aman suddenly cried before we could get near the nest. His legs had been trapped in a wire planted under dry leaves. He fell on the ground. The remaining three of us were knocked unconscious by an electric shock when we tried to rescue Aman,” he said.

When Nabin, Arjun and Sagar regained their consciousness, they saw Aman lying motionless just a few feet before them. The three of them then ran towards the village to call for help. On the way, they met a group of farmers working in a field who took them to hospital and informed the boys’ families.

Seriously injured, Arjun and Sagar have been taken to Kathmandu for treatment.

Family members of the boys and the villagers have demanded the authorities to arrest the culprits and bring them to justice.