MP forest team tracking cheetah mistaken for dacoits, beaten up by villagers

Shivpuri: A Madhya Pradesh forest department squad tracking a cheetah that had sneaked out of Kuno National Park was attacked in the early hours of Friday by some villagers who mistook them for dacoits, an official said.

The incident took place at around 4am near Burakheda village when the team was tracking cheetah Asha, which was flown in from Namibia in September last year and had sneaked out KNP some days ago, he said.

"The villagers fired into the air and then assaulted the team. Three staffers sustained injuries. The villagers thought the squad members were dacoits looking to steal cattle," KNP Divisional Forests Officer PK Verma told PTI.

"A complaint was submitted at Pohri police station, he added.

Efforts are on to nab the people involved in the attack on the forest team, Pohri police station inspector Arvind Singh said.