Thiruvananthapuram | Police on Monday said the murder of a man at Chambakkada in Kaithamukku here was a pre-planned attack, with the accused allegedly conspiring a day in advance by procuring weapons and arranging a vehicle before carrying out the killing.

Addressing a press conference, Assistant Commissioner of Police Alexander Thankachan said all four accused -- Pradeep alias "Pathu" Pradeep, Vineeth, Nazeer Khan and Shivaprasad -- have been arrested.

"The preliminary investigation indicates that there was prior planning. It was done the previous day itself. They arranged the required weapons and vehicle," the officer said.

The victim, Visakh, a resident of Chambakkada in Kaithamukku, was allegedly hacked to death in front of his house on Sunday.

Later, police arrested all four accused from an isolated area in Pulayanarkotta here.

According to police, Visakh and the prime accused, Pradeep, were neighbours as well as relatives and had been involved in a long-running property dispute.

Police said Visakh had allegedly attempted to murder Pradeep last year in connection with the property dispute.

A case under the relevant provisions for attempt to murder was registered against him, following which he was remanded in judicial custody and later released on bail.

Thankachan said a verbal altercation between Visakh and a relative of Pradeep two days before the murder acted as the immediate provocation.

Police also said the accused had attempted to mislead investigators by leaving weapons inside an abandoned car to make it appear that they had been used in the murder.

"It is understood that there was an attempt to mislead the police. The weapons found inside the abandoned car were not the weapons used for the crime," the ACP said.

Police have recovered seven weapons in connection with the case, and further investigation is underway.

Police said Pradeep has around seven criminal cases against him, including cases under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), though most of them were registered before 2013.

The second accused, Vineeth, is an accused in another murder case.

Nazeer Khan has five criminal cases against him and is listed as a rowdy history-sheeter at the Pettah police station, while Shivaprasad has around 12 criminal cases and is a rowdy history-sheeter at the Vizhinjam police station, the officer said.

Rejecting allegations by Visakh's family that police had ignored earlier complaints about threats to his life, Thankachan termed them "incorrect" and said an earlier complaint had been inquired into.

Later, following a complaint filed at a court, a case was registered at Vachiyoor police station, he said.

"During the subsequent investigation, the victim's mother had given a signed statement stating that there was no immediate threat to her son's life and that no further action was required," he said