What is ‘Bharmar’, the traditional firearm allegedly used to shoot a cheetah in MP?

Bhopal: The death of a 19-month-old male cheetah, identified as KNG22, has raised serious questions about the safety of wildlife under Project Cheetah. The animal, which was found injured in the territorial forests of Morena district on October 25, succumbed to its injuries on Tuesday despite intensive medical treatment. Five firearm pellets were recovered from its body during emergency surgery, the forest department confirmed.

Bhopal-based wildlife activist Ajay Dubey has alleged negligence on the part of forest officials and demanded the removal of Kuno National Park Field Director Uttam Sharma and Sheopur district’s Divisional Forest Officer R Thirukural. Dubey also alleged that the cheetah was shot using a ‘bharmar’, a traditional muzzle-loading firearm. However, the state forest department has not officially confirmed which weapon was used in the incident.

The Union government deputed a high-level team on Wednesday to investigate the circumstances leading to the cheetah’s death, while the Madhya Pradesh government also constituted a Special Task Force comprising forest and police officials.

Meanwhile, let’s take a closer look at what a bharmar is and how the traditional firearm works.

What is a bharmar?

A bharmar is a traditional, country-made muzzle-loading firearm in which gunpowder and the projectile are loaded through the open end of the barrel, rather than using a modern cartridge-loading mechanism. It's fired from a close range.

The weapon has historically been used in parts of central India, including forested and rural areas. According to Dubey, bharmars were also used for hunting during the princely era.

“Earlier, when the Rajas-Maharajas would go on a hunt, they would use bharmar to kill an animal. When it explodes, its pellets also explode everywhere. In this incident, bharmar has been used to attack the cheetah,” Dubey previously told Mathrubhumi English.

However, his claim that a bharmar was used in the cheetah’s death remains unverified.

From hunting in the princely era to use in criminal attacks:

The firearm has also featured in reports of criminal incidents. In May 2013, following the deadly Maoist attack on Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, media reports claimed the use of bharmar-type firearms in the attack.

The incident drew attention to the continued circulation of traditional firearms despite the availability of modern weapons.

The alleged use of a bharmar in the Kuno cheetah case, however, remains unconfirmed. Although five firearm pellets were recovered from KNG22’s body, investigators will need to examine forensic evidence to determine the type of weapon used and establish the circumstances in which the animal was shot.