New Delhi: A special task force (STF) constituted by the Madhya Pradesh government to investigate the recent death of a cheetah killed by firearm pellet injuries has arrested two people from the village of Navalpura-Behrara in Morena district in connection with the case, the state government announced on Monday (November 2).A licensed, double-barreled, muzzle-loading (cap-lock) gun used in the poaching has also been recovered, it said.Two arrestedA 19-month-old African cheetah was found gravely injured on October 25 in the Morena forest division, and though it was operated on and treated, the animal succumbed to its firearm pellet injuries two days later. Morena is a territorial forest area outside Kuno National Park, the protected area where India’s Project Cheetah was launched in 2022.Following the death of the cheetah, the state government had said that an inquiry had been initiated into the issue. The Union government has also constituted a high-level team to investigate the matter.In its press statement on November 2, the Madhya Pradesh government stated that it had constituted a four-member STF comprising both forest and police officials to investigate the incident.Per the statement, the STF obtained information through an informant network it had put together, and via a search operation with a dog squad in alliance with the Morena district police, the Sheopur forest division and the Morena forest division. Based on this information, the STF arrested Bhagwan Singh, a resident of village Navalpura-Behrara in Morena district, on October 31.During interrogation over his two-day custody, Singh allegedly admitted that on October 24, he had been in the forest near the village of Nitanwas, Vijaypur (Sheopur district), along with his brother Pritam Singh, for hunting.“When a cheetah was spotted in the area, he fired at it using his licensed, double-barreled, muzzle-loading (cap-lock) gun, and subsequently fled the scene,” the statement read.Pritam Singh has also been arrested, and the duo were taken to the location of the shooting. Based on their inputs, the STF retrieved a licensed, double-barreled, muzzle-loading (cap-lock) gun that was used in the poaching from the forest in Morena forest division.The firearm has been seized and a case has been registered against both villagers under sections 9 and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the statement said. Both accused are currently in judicial custody.“The investigation conducted thus far has revealed no involvement of any commercial (illegal wildlife trade) or organised wildlife crime syndicate in this case,” the statement by the member-secretary of the STF said.‘A fabricated story’However, information given in the press statement does not tally with local happenings, alleged local wildlife activist Ajay Dubey. For instance, authorities had already arrested Bhagwan Singh on October 26, and this was published by local news reports, he told The Wire. The Wire was, however, unable to verify this.Additionally, if the arrested villagers were former hunters as claimed by the forest department, how did they have a licensed gun, Dubey asked. “A gun can only be given a license if local authorities give a no-objection certificate for it. So why was a license given for a gun in cheetah habitat, and if it was an old license, why wasn’t the gun confiscated,” he said. “This just points to a huge intelligence failure.”Even more concerning is the fact that the STF has given a “clean chit” that no syndicate was involved in the incident, Dubey said. The cheetah killing happened in an area that has witnessed several poaching incidents including by wildlife crime syndicates as the recent seizure of ten leopard skins from the area attest to, he pointed out.“How can you give a clean chit that no syndicate was involved, with such a brief investigation? Why hasn’t it been investigated more, as it should be?” he asked. “This is a fabricated story.”Six forest personnel have also been suspended in the meantime. The Times of India had reported on October 31 that two rangers, a deputy ranger and three forest guards posted in Morena and Sheopur districts were suspended by the state forest department for dereliction of duty.