CHARIKOT: An inquisitive 12-year-old boy of Jugu VDC-3 in Dolakha district, made a toy gun, but succumbed when the toy-gun he had made exploded. Pritam Jirel, an eighth grader in a local school, died before he would call for help following the explosion today, said the deceased’s family members. Jirel, since his childhood, had avid interest in arms, especially guns carried by the then Maoists rebels or police and army personnel. As his interest grew, he would make look-alike toy-guns and play with them. This time he emulated a muzzle loader with a steel pipe of an antenna, which he used as the barrel of the gun and used matchsticks heads as gun powder. He stuffed the matchstick heads with wood in the pipe of his toy-gun and when he was out playing, said Pritam’s father Binod Jirel. No sooner had the curious kid ignited the muzzle of the toy gun, than the gunpowder exploded and the barrel pierced his head. “My son used to go out and play with his peers since his school was closed following the quake. We did not take interest in his activities, but our indifference cost his life,” said the bereaved father, bemoaning the untimely death of his offspring. The boy’s body has been handed over to the deceased’s family after post-mortem.