KOTA BARU: Police investigating the gruesome rape and strangulation-murder of 17-year-old Nurul Anira Che Rosik believe that the crime had been carried out by more than one person.

Kelantan Criminal Investigation Department chief Assistant Commissioner Mazlan Lazim said that, based on observations of where the body of the Form Five student of Sekolah Menengah Jeli (1) was found on Saturday, it is highly likely that several people were involved in the act.

Nurul's half-naked body, with her hands tied at the front using her own tudung, was found in a shallow ravine, deep in a smallholding just 500m from her home in Kampung Chengal Bedil, Jeli.

"We believe the girl was dragged to the smallholding by at least two or three people," said Mazlan, who said that it would have been difficult for a single perpetrator to forcibly carry Nurul that far into the smallholding.

"There, she was gang-raped and later murdered.
"Her body was then dumped about a few metres from the site and buried under a mound of earth near a bamboo grove," he said at a press conference yesterday.

Mazlan did not identify the suspects, but said they are believed to be locals and were known to the victim.

He said police launched a search operation for the suspects on Saturday and that the hunt is still ongoing.

Mazlan urged the public to contact their nearest police station if they have any information about the case.