Two brothers have been arrested for allegedly shooting dead a 19-month-old cheetah born at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park after mistaking the endangered animal for a leopard during a hunting expedition.
Two brothers have been arrested for allegedly shooting dead a 19-month-old cheetah born at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park after mistaking the endangered animal for a leopard during a hunting expedition. The Special Task Force (STF), which cracked the case through an intelligence-led operation, has also recovered the vintage double-barrel firearm allegedly used in the killing.
Investigators revealed that the cheetah was standing barely 12 to 15 feet away when one of the hunters allegedly pulled the trigger. The accused, identified as Bhagwan Singh, a resident of Navalpura-Behrara village in Pahargarh tehsil of Morena district, and his brother Pritam Singh, were arrested following a joint operation involving the state police STF and the forest department’s Special Tiger Strike Force (STSF).
According to sources, the brothers belong to the nomadic Mongia community and had ventured into the forests near Nitanwas village in the Vijaypur area of Sheopur district on October 24.
During interrogation, Bhagwan Singh allegedly told investigators that the duo had gone hunting for wild boar when a cheetah suddenly appeared at close range. Mistaking the animal for a leopard, he allegedly fired at it using a vintage, muzzle-loading, double-barrel percussion-cap musket/shotgun before fleeing the spot.
The animal, identified as KNG-22, was a radio-collared male cheetah born at Kuno National Park. It suffered a ruptured lung and succumbed to its injuries a few hours after the shooting.
Madhya Pradesh government constituted a four-member STF comprising police and forest officials to investigate the incident. The team developed an informer network, analysed intelligence inputs, coordinated with officials across districts and launched search operations with the assistance of a dog squad.
Bhagwan Singh was arrested on October 31. His interrogation subsequently led investigators to his brother, Pritam Singh, who was traced and detained outside Madhya Pradesh.
The two accused were later taken to the suspected crime scene to identify the location and reconstruct the incident. Acting on information provided by them, the STF recovered the alleged murder weapon from the Morena Forest Division.
The arrests mark a significant breakthrough in the investigation into the first reported shooting of a cheetah since the launch of Project Cheetah in September 2022.
The recovered firearm will now undergo forensic and ballistic examinations to determine whether it was used to fire the pellets discovered inside KNG-22’s body.
Interstate intelligence operation leads to arrests
The four-member STF was formed after medical examinations revealed firearm pellets lodged inside the cheetah’s body, pointing to a suspected shooting rather than natural injuries.
Investigators built an informer network and conducted extensive searches in forest areas with the help of a dog squad. They also gathered intelligence through the Morena district police, Sheopur Forest Division and Morena Forest Division.
After analysing and verifying the inputs, the team identified Bhagwan Singh as a suspect and arrested him on October 31. He was subsequently produced before the Vijaypur court in Sheopur district, which granted two days of forest/police custody for interrogation.
During questioning, Bhagwan Singh allegedly revealed details of the hunting expedition and his brother’s presence at the scene. This disclosure led investigators to Pritam Singh, who was subsequently detained outside the state.
The brothers were then taken to the suspected location to identify where the cheetah had been shot. Following their disclosures, the vintage firearm was recovered from the forest area.
Vintage firearm key to ballistic investigation
The seized weapon is a vintage, muzzle-loading, double-barrel percussion-cap musket/shotgun. Unlike modern firearms that use cartridges, this weapon requires ammunition to be manually loaded through the muzzle of each barrel.
“Gunpowder and a projectile are placed inside each barrel, with a wad used to secure the charge. A percussion cap fitted to the firing mechanism ignites the propellant when struck by the hammer. Depending on the ammunition used, such a smoothbore firearm can discharge a single projectile or multiple metal pellets” officials said.
The firearm has two separate barrels and independent firing mechanisms, allowing each barrel to be discharged individually. Its traditional loading and ignition mechanism sets it apart from contemporary breech-loading shotguns.
The alleged shooting’s extremely close range and the multiple pellets recovered from the cheetah’s body have made the ballistic examination a crucial part of the investigation.
Experts will examine the weapon’s barrels, firing mechanism and ammunition characteristics before comparing them with the medical and forensic evidence, an officer said.
While the recovery represents a major investigative breakthrough, officials are yet to establish a definitive ballistic connection between the seized firearm and the fatal injuries sustained by the cheetah.
Five lead pellets discovered during treatment
KNG-22 was rescued in an injured condition from compartment number 748 of the Sheopur Forest Division on October 25, a day after the alleged shooting.
The 19-month-old male cheetah was rushed for treatment by a team from the Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology at Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University (NDVSU), Jabalpur.
During a CT scan and subsequent medical intervention, doctors discovered five lead balls lodged inside its body, confirming suspicions that the animal had been shot.
Despite medical treatment and surgical intervention, the cheetah died on October 27. The discovery of the pellets prompted the Madhya Pradesh government to set up a special investigation team to track down those responsible.
The carcass was subsequently brought back to Kuno National Park.
KNG-22 was one of the offspring of female cheetah Nirva and was born in India under the country’s ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme.
No organised ,wildlife, crime link established
So far, investigators have found no evidence linking the killing to commercial illegal wildlife trade or an organised wildlife crime syndicate.
The investigation’s current findings suggest that the two brothers had allegedly ventured into the forest for hunting and that Bhagwan Singh opened fire after mistaking the cheetah for a leopard.
However, investigators are continuing to probe the circumstances surrounding the incident and whether the accused were involved in other hunting activities.
A case has been registered against both brothers under Sections 9 and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2022. While Section 9 prohibits the hunting of protected wild animals, Section 51 prescribes penalties for violations of the Act.
Both accused were scheduled to be produced before the Vijaypur court in Sheopur district on November 2, with further legal proceedings to follow.
Hunting pressure around Kuno raises fresh concerns
The killing has once again brought the spotlight on the growing security challenges faced by cheetahs when they venture beyond Kuno National Park into neighbouring territorial forests.
The original Project Cheetah action plan had flagged hunting-related threats in the surrounding landscape, acknowledging that bushmeat consumption was widespread in nearby areas and that residents of several villages possessed country-made firearms, bows, arrows and other hunting equipment.
The plan had recommended stronger coordination between forest officials and the police to curb hunting across the wider landscape. It also proposed working with the animal husbandry department to encourage poultry farming as an alternative source of meat.
Poaching has remained a persistent concern around Kuno even before the arrival of African cheetahs.
In April 2022, months before the first batch of cheetahs arrived from Namibia, poachers killed a leopard in the park’s buffer zone.
In August 2023, authorities seized a rifle concealed near a river close to the park entrance and arrested three suspected poachers.
In 2024, a patrol team allegedly thwarted an attempt by suspected poachers to enter the Moravan West Range, where cheetahs Aagni and Vaayu were roaming. Reports at the time suggested that the suspected poachers opened fire when confronted by officials before fleeing the area.
Deer poaching has also continued to trouble forest authorities, with officials suspecting hunting groups of removing camera traps to evade detection.