The Madhya Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested two brothers for allegedly killing a 19-month-old cheetah cub, officially known as Kuno Nirva Gaurav or KNG-22, outside the Kuno National Park and recovered the licenced double-barrel gun they used in the crime, police said on Monday.
According to an STF officer, the male cub (KNG-22) was rescued in an injured condition from compartment No. 748 of Sheopur forest division on October 25, however it died during treatment two days later. Doctors found five pellets inside its body, the officer said.
The four-member STF arrested Bhagwan Singh, a resident of Morena district, on October 31. His brother was arrested later in the day. Both were remanded in two-day judicial custody on October 31 and produced before the court again on Monday, which sent them to judicial custody, a senior forest department official said.
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Killed cheetah while hunting boar
During interrogation, Singh allegedly confessed that on October 24, he and Pritam Singh had gone to the forest to hunt a wild boar. When they spotted the movement of the cheetah, he fired at it and fled the spot. A case was registered against both under sections 9 and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (Amended 2022).
{{/usCountry}}During interrogation, Singh allegedly confessed that on October 24, he and Pritam Singh had gone to the forest to hunt a wild boar. When they spotted the movement of the cheetah, he fired at it and fled the spot. A case was registered against both under sections 9 and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (Amended 2022).
{{/usCountry}}Also Read | Cheetah cub found injured in MP's Morena, shifted to Kuno National Park; suspected to have been hit
The officer said they are probing the illegal wildlife trade and organised crime angle in the case. This is the first case of a cheetah being shot dead since the big cats were reintroduced in India four years ago. As many as eight forest officials of Morena and Sheopur were suspended for neglect of their duties, the officer added.
The death of KNG22 is the first such killing in the country since cheetahs were reintroduced four years ago.
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India’s cheetah reintroduction programme
Under India’s cheetah reintroduction programme, eight cheetahs were brought from Namibia in September 2022, followed by 20 from South Africa in February 2023. Earlier this year, nine more cheetahs were translocated from Botswana.