StatesMadhya Pradesh
Two brothers arrested for shooting Kuno cheetah KNG-22, licensed gun recovered
Bhagwan Singh and Preetam Singh of Morena have been sent to jail under the Wildlife (Protection) Act. Investigators say the killing of the 19-month-old male was not the work of a poaching gang.
Key points
- Two brothers from Morena were sent to jail by a Vijaypur court on Monday.
- They have admitted firing at the cheetah with a licensed double-barrelled gun.
- Four forest staff, including two rangers, have been suspended for lapses in monitoring.
Two brothers from Morena have been arrested for shooting dead KNG-22, a 19-month-old male cheetah from Kuno National Park, in the first known killing of one of the reintroduced cats by a gun.
The Madhya Pradesh Special Task Force arrested Bhagwan Singh on 31 October. On his statement, and with help from Morena police, it then picked up his brother Preetam Singh. Both were produced before a court in Vijaypur in Sheopur district on Monday, which sent them to jail. A case has been registered under Sections 9 and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
The STF said the two were hunting in the forest near Nitanwas village in the Vijaypur area when they spotted the young male and shot him. Bhagwan Singh told investigators that when the cheetah appeared, he fired at it with his licensed gun. The weapon, a licensed double-barrelled gun, was recovered from the forest in the Morena forest division where the accused led the team.
Five pellets
KNG-22, a cub of the South African cheetah Nirva, was found badly hurt near the Morena-Sheopur border after the shooting on 24 October. He was moved to a veterinary facility in Jabalpur, where surgeons removed five pellets from his body. He died on 27 October.
The Centre sent a high-level team to Morena to inspect the site, and the state formed a four-member STF. Investigators followed the signals from the cheetah’s radio collar and raided nearby villages before the first arrest.
Officials say the killing does not appear to be the work of traffickers. “Based on the initial probe, we do not think this was a case of an organised poaching network. But we are not completely ruling out that possibility,” a senior forest department official said. “We are continuing our investigation and will submit our final report soon.”
The Chief Conservator of Forests in Gwalior has suspended four forest staff, two rangers, a deputy ranger and a beat guard, for lapses in monitoring and security.