Police arrests two brothers in link with Kuno cheetah’s death, first such cheetah hunting incident in the independent India

THE KILLING of male cheetah, who was found wounded on Monday 25, 2026 in  Sheopur forest division, with five gunshot about 50 kilometers from his home Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh, occurred due to a fun-hunting hobby of two brothers, the Special Task Force (STF) said on Monday November 2, 2026.

The cheetah, also known as Kuno Nirva Gaurav or KNG-22, succumbed to injuries on Tuesday October 27, 2026 during the treatment in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. The STF has also denied the possibility that the 19 month old’s killing was motivated by illegal trade and no organised wildlife crime or illegal wildlife trade syndicate involved.

The two brothers named, Bhagwan Singh and Pritam Singh are now under arrest for the killing of Cheetah, KNG-22 and the gun used in the crime- also called bharmar gun- has also been recovered. 

This is the first such hunting instance since the launch of Project Cheetah launched in  September 2022 to revive the extinct cheetah species in India. 

The duo Killed cheetah instead of hunting wild boar

The STF arrested Bhagwan Singh on Saturday, October 31, 2026. During the interrogation with STF officials, the accused revealed that both he and his brother, Pritam Singh, on Saturday October 24, 2026 were on their way to hunt a wild boar in forest near Nitanwas Village, Vijaypur (Sheopur). When they traced the cheetah around them they opened fire from their licensed, double-barreled, muzzle-loading (cap-lock) gun, and later left the scene in hurry. Based on the statement, Morena police also took Pritam Singh in custody later.

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“Both accused were taken to the crime scene for identification, and, acting on their information, the licensed, double-barreled, muzzle-loading gun used in the hunt was recovered from the forest in the Morena forest division and duly seized,” STF statement added.

Both accused brothers are residents of Navalpura-Behrara village which falls under Morena district’s Pahargarh sub-division. The village shares a border with Sheopur district where the incident took place.

The STF also denied the involvement of a wider poaching network. The total cheetah population of the country now stands at 58 with 52 residing at Kuno.

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India’s Cheetah project timeline

After the tragic extinction of the Cheetah during independence era, due to wider hunting and poaching activities, efforts to revive the fastest animal on earth were begun but it was not until 2022 the when the first successful transfer of cheetah from the Africa continent took place. 

On September 22, 2022 eight cheetahs, between the ages of four to six were imported from Namibia. As of now, there are 25 surviving Namibian cheetahs living in Kuno National Park.

Later on February 18, 2023, 12 more cheetahs were also introduced from South Africa but only eight of them have survived as of now. With ten cubs born in India the total population of South African Cheetahs is 18 at present. 

In February this year also, nine cheetahs again transferred from Botswana to India after President Draupadi Murmu’s visit to the African nation.

Apart from Kuno National Park four cheetahs have also been rehabilitated in Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (Madhya Pradesh), while two others were also released in Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh), on October 7, 2026.

[Rh/GS/RS]

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