Kuno cheetah KNG-22 killing: Two brothers arrested, gun recovered in MP
Synopsis
For the first time in nearly eight decades, a cheetah in India has been shot dead — and the accused is not a hardened wildlife criminal but a local villager who reportedly stumbled upon the animal while poaching in Kuno's buffer zone. The arrest of two brothers from Morena and the recovery of a licensed 'Bharmar' gun exposes a critical gap: India's landmark cheetah reintroduction programme may be undone not by organised crime, but by inadequate last-mile forest surveillance.
Key Takeaways
Bhagwan Singh and Preetam Singh of Morena arrested by the STF for killing cheetah KNG-22 at Kuno National Park .
Bhagwan Singh confessed to shooting the cheetah with a licensed 'Bharmar' double-barrel gun on 24 October 2026 near Nitanwas village , Vijaypur.
The 19-month-old cheetah KNG-22 was found injured on 25 October and died on 27 October 2026 despite surgery that removed five pellets .
Case registered under Sections 9 and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; both accused sent to judicial custody.
Four forest personnel — two rangers, one deputy ranger, one beat guard — suspended for security negligence.
This is reportedly the first confirmed cheetah shooting in India in nearly eight decades ; no organised gang link found so far.
The Special Task Force (STF) has arrested two brothers — Bhagwan Singh and Preetam Singh — from Morena in connection with the killing of male cheetah KNG-22 at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. The STF also recovered the licensed double-barrel firearm used in the shooting, officials confirmed on 2 November 2026.
What the Accused Confessed
According to the STF, the main accused Bhagwan Singh admitted during interrogation that he and his brother had entered the forest near Nitanwas village in the Vijaypur area on 24 October 2026 for poaching. When the cheetah appeared in their path, Bhagwan Singh fired at it using his licensed 'Bharmar' double-barrel gun. The confession led investigators directly to his brother's involvement.
Acting on Bhagwan Singh's statement — who had been arrested on 31 October and presented before the Vijaypur (Sheopur) court — the STF, with the assistance of Morena police, took Preetam Singh into custody. Both brothers were subsequently taken to the incident site for further questioning, and the weapon was recovered from within the Morena forest division.
The Cheetah's Death: A Timeline
The 19-month-old male cheetah KNG-22 was discovered severely injured in compartment number 748 of the Sheopur forest division on 25 October 2026. Veterinary teams transferred the animal to a facility in Jabalpur, where surgeons removed five pellets from its body. Despite the procedure, KNG-22 succumbed to its injuries on 27 October 2026.
Notably, this is being described as the first reported shooting of a cheetah in India in nearly eight decades — a grim milestone for the country's high-profile cheetah reintroduction programme, which brought the animals back to Indian soil after their local extinction.
Legal Action and Forest Department Accountability
The STF has registered a case against both brothers under Sections 9 and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (as amended in 2022). Both accused were produced before the Vijaypur court on Monday and remanded to judicial custody. Investigators stated that, so far, the inquiry has not revealed any connection to illegal wildlife trade or an organised poaching network.
In a parallel accountability move, the Chief Conservator of Forests, Gwalior, suspended four forest personnel for negligence in monitoring and security. The suspended staff include two rangers, one deputy ranger, and one beat guard.
Government Response and Investigation
The gravity of the incident prompted the Madhya Pradesh state government to constitute the four-member STF. The Centre separately deputed a high-level team to conduct a parallel investigation. This comes amid longstanding concerns about the adequacy of on-ground protection for reintroduced cheetahs, several of whom have died since the programme launched — though this is the first confirmed case of a deliberate shooting.
The outcome of the central team's probe and any further charges are expected to shape how wildlife authorities strengthen patrolling protocols across Kuno's buffer zones going forward.
Point of View
But it opens a far more uncomfortable question about India's cheetah reintroduction programme: if a local villager with a licensed gun can walk into a national park's buffer zone, shoot a protected animal, and go undetected for a week, the surveillance architecture is simply not fit for purpose. Suspending four forest staff addresses optics, not structure. The Centre's high-level probe needs to interrogate why radio-collar telemetry and ranger patrols failed to flag KNG-22's distress before he was found dying. With multiple cheetahs already lost to various causes since reintroduction, each avoidable death narrows the genetic and political margin for the project's survival.
NationPress
3 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who killed cheetah KNG-22 at Kuno National Park?
Bhagwan Singh, a resident of Morena in Madhya Pradesh, has confessed to shooting cheetah KNG-22 with his licensed 'Bharmar' double-barrel gun on 24 October 2026, while poaching in the forest near Nitanwas village. His brother Preetam Singh was also arrested for accompanying him during the incident.
What happened to cheetah KNG-22 after it was shot?
KNG-22, a 19-month-old male cheetah, was found severely injured in the Sheopur forest division on 25 October 2026. Veterinary surgeons at a Jabalpur facility removed five pellets from its body, but the animal died from its injuries on 27 October 2026.
What charges have been filed against the two brothers?
Both Bhagwan Singh and Preetam Singh have been charged under Sections 9 and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2022. They were produced before the Vijaypur court and remanded to judicial custody. Investigators say there is no evidence of organised wildlife trade involvement so far.
Why is this cheetah killing historically significant?
This is reportedly the first confirmed shooting of a cheetah in India in nearly eight decades, making it a serious setback for the country's ongoing cheetah reintroduction programme. Cheetahs had been extinct in India since the 1950s and were reintroduced at Kuno National Park in recent years.
What action has been taken against forest officials?
The Chief Conservator of Forests, Gwalior, has suspended four forest personnel — two rangers, one deputy ranger, and one beat guard — for negligence in monitoring and security. The state government also formed a four-member STF, and the Centre deputed a separate high-level team to investigate the incident.
