Police have detained a man for his alleged role in the brutal murder of a young woman whose half-naked body was found with gunshot wounds and severe slits on Phu Phan mountain in Kalasin.

The suspect was reportedly close to the victim, Pol Maj Gen Montri Charanphong, chief of Kalasin police said on Wednesday.

The body of the woman, identified as Sawittri Anchaisri, 27, of Kalasin’s Sam Chai district, was found on Phu Phan mountain near Ban Dong Suan village in Sam Chai on Tuesday morning. Police were alerted by the village headman, Mr Saithong Phukingngern.

The body, which was naked from the waist down, had two gunshot wounds to the right shoulder and severe slits on the right side of the back. A motorcycle with no licence plates, believed to belong to the victim, was found about 10 metres away from the body. Police sent the body to a local hospital for an autopsy to determine whether she was the victim of rape.

Pol Maj Gen Montri said the suspect and some witnesses were being interrogated. They were also looking for evidence, particularly the gun used in the shooting.

The investigators have obtained chat messages between the victim and her Facebook friends that may give clues to the murder.

Pol Maj Gen Montri said the investigation team has initially focused on love affairs and a conflict over illicit drugs as possible motives for the murder.