Wildlife officials link local gun culture to cheetah cub killing in Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh wildlife officials have pointed to the Chambal region's gun culture as a key focus in the ongoing investigation into the shooting of a 19-month-old cheetah cub. The cub, identified as KNG22, was found with five gunshot wounds and passed away on October 27 during treatment in Jabalpur.

Investigation Details

The cub was first located on October 25 by a monitoring team in compartment no. 748 of the Sheopur Territorial Forest Division, roughly 50 kilometres from Kuno National Park's boundaries near Pahadgarh village. Medical treatment in Jabalpur later recovered five firearm metal pellets from its body, including one lodged in its lung. A special task force of forest and police officers, alongside a high-level Union Government team that visited on October 28, is leading the probe. Investigators are exploring poaching, revenge killing, and self-defence, noting that illegal cattle camps in the area are being examined as the cub may have been killed in retaliation for attacking livestock. Officials suspect the weapon used was a traditional single-shot muzzle-loading smoothbore firearm known as a bharmar gun.

Context

The Chambal region is historically known for its ravines and former dacoit presence, and while those gangs are gone, high crime rates, local rivalries, and widespread gun ownership persist. Morena is frequently noted for illegal arms manufacturing, and officials state that a firearm can be found in nearly every household across the area.