An inter-state gang of poachers that killed 10 leopards within nine months in the forests of northern Madhya Pradesh (the Gwalior-Chambal region), including the Kuno Wildlife Division, has been busted following a series of operations by the forest department and police in Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
As many as 11 persons allegedly linked to the inter-state poaching racket have been arrested in coordinated operations in the two neighbouring states. Four were arrested in Uttar Pradesh and seven in Madhya Pradesh. More arrests are likely in the coming days from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and another state.
On July 23, 2026, a joint team of the forest and police departments in Uttar Pradesh's Agra district arrested four men, including two natives of Haryana and two from northern Madhya Pradesh (the Gwalior-Chambal region).
As many as 10 leopard skins and other body parts were recovered from the four accused.
Following the operation in western Uttar Pradesh, the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department's dedicated State Tiger Strike Force (STSF) constituted multiple teams, which were sent to Uttar Pradesh, parts of northern Madhya Pradesh and Haryana to further investigate the case.
In the subsequent operation, joint teams of the STSF, Kuno Wildlife Division, Sheopur Forest Division and Morena Forest Division conducted a series of raids across districts in northern Madhya Pradesh, particularly in villages in and around the Kuno Wildlife Division, which includes the Kuno National Park, the first home of African cheetahs in India.
Based on information provided by the four men arrested in Uttar Pradesh, separate poaching sites were identified in Morena and Sheopur districts of northern Madhya Pradesh. A large quantity of leopard bones and other body parts was seized, leading to the registration of two forest offence cases by the MP STSF.
The STSF's operation across three states led to the arrest of seven more men. Six of them are residents of Jhar Baroda village in Sheopur district of northern Madhya Pradesh, while the seventh is from neighbouring Morena district.
Notably, Jhar Baroda village is located around 20 km from the Kuno National Park and had gained public attention in April 2023 when Oban, a radio-collared male Namibian cheetah, strayed into the village before being safely rescued by forest department teams.
“Quizzing of the four men arrested in UP and seven men arrested in MP has revealed that they had poached at least ten leopards between October 2025 and June 2026. Out of the ten leopards poached by the racket, six were poached in Kuno Wildlife Forest Division (which also includes the Kuno National Park’s area), two were killed in Sheopur Forest Division and two in Chambal Sanctuary in the Morena Forest Division. Leg hold traps were used by the poachers to execute the kills of the leopards,” a source associated with the ongoing probe told TNIE on Sunday.