2 brothers arrested for allegedly shooting dead cheetah in Madhya Pradesh

Two brothers, Bhagwan Singh and Pritam Singh, were arrested in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly shooting and killing a cheetah in a forest. The Special Task Force (STF) identified the victims as residents of Morena district, who were hunting in the vicinity of Nitanwas village in Sheopur district when the incident occurred. The male cheetah, named KNG-22, was hit by five gun pellets and died shortly after.

The STF recovered the firearm used in the shooting, a licensed double-barreled country weapon, from a forest area in Morena district. Both brothers were taken into custody and are set to appear in court on November 2. A case has been filed under the Wildlife Protection Act. Initial investigations found no evidence of illegal wildlife trade or organized crime involvement in the incident.

KNG-22, a cheetah cub born to Nirva, was found injured on October 25 and later died on October 27 after emergency surgery. The death of KNG-22 reduced India's cheetah population to 58, with 52 at Kuno National Park, four at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, and two at Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve.