New Delhi: The Madhya Pradesh Special Task Force arrested two people Monday in connection with the killing of a 19-month-old cheetah at the Kuno National Park last week. Forest department officials said that firearms have been recovered from the duo, but preliminary inquiry suggests that the case does not seem to be linked to a larger poaching network.
In a statement, the Special Task Force (STF) said that two brothers, Bhagwan Singh and Pritam Singh, both residents of MP’s Morena district—where the cheetah’s body was found—were hunting in the forests near Nitanwas village in Vijaypur. The duo spotted the male cheetah, KNG-22 and shot him.
“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 official from the MP forest department told ThePrint.
The STF said that Singh was arrested on 31 October. He then guided the team to his brother, Pritam. On Monday, the two were produced before a court in Vijaypur. During the investigation, the brothers admitted to firing at the cheetah with a locally made licensed double-barrelled gun.
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‘We are continuing the investigation’
On October 26, a 19-month-old cheetah cub was found injured in the Kuno National Park, near the Morena-Sheopur border. The animal had wounds and a few marks on its back and was immediately rushed to the department’s medical centre for treatment. Owing to his deteriorating health, the cheetah was transferred to a medical centre in Jabalpur the next day, where he died of his injuries.
Forest officials confirmed that five metal pellets were recovered from the animal’s abdomen, suggesting human involvement.
The cheetah is an offspring of cheetah Nirva, who was brought to India from South Africa.
Forest officials told ThePrint that a thorough investigation followed the death of the cheetah. The radio collar of the animal was examined to check for possible suspects.
“The teams conducted raids in villages, and we got some initial leads and followed up on that. We are continuing our investigation and will submit our final report soon,” the official said.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)