The STF said Bhagwan Singh told investigators that the cheetah was fired upon with a licensed double-barrelled country firearm before the two men fled (Special Arrangement)A 19-month-old cheetah that died after being hit by gun pellets in Madhya Pradesh was allegedly shot by two brothers who had gone hunting in a forest, the state’s Special Task Force (STF) said after arresting the men and recovering the firearm used in the shooting.The STF identified the accused as Bhagwan Singh and Pritam Singh, residents of Morena district. It said the two were hunting in forests near Nitanwas village in Vijaypur, in neighbouring Sheopur district, when the male cheetah, identified as KNG-22, was shot.Bhagwan Singh was arrested on October 31 and information obtained during his interrogation led investigators to his brother, who was subsequently taken into custody, the STF said. Both were due to be produced before a court in Vijaypur on November 2.The STF said Bhagwan Singh told investigators that the cheetah was fired upon with a licensed double-barrelled country firearm before the two men fled. Investigators later took the accused to the site and recovered the weapon from a forest area in Morena district, the agency said.A case has been registered against the brothers under the Wildlife Protection Act. The STF said its investigation had so far found no evidence linking the killing to illegal wildlife trade or an organised wildlife crime network.KNG-22, a male cub born to cheetah Nirva, was found injured by a monitoring team on October 25 in the territorial forest division of Morena, outside Kuno National Park. He was taken to Kuno that night and later shifted to Jabalpur for advanced treatment. A CT scan showed damage to his internal organs, musculoskeletal system and nervous system, and he died early on October 27. Five pellets were recovered from his body during emergency surgery.Before the latest arrests, investigators had questioned around 20 people and searched homes in the Morena-Sheopur region as they tried to establish where the cheetah had been shot. They also examined data from KNG-22’s radio collar to reconstruct his movements before he was found injured.Story continues below this adThe Madhya Pradesh government constituted a four-member task force of forest and police officers on October 27 to investigate the shooting. The Union Environment Ministry also sent a three-member team comprising officials from the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau to examine the circumstances of the incident and security arrangements for cheetahs moving outside protected areas.KNG-22’s death brought India’s cheetah population to 58, including 52 at Kuno National Park, four at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary and two at Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve.An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with... Read More Tags:cheetah