A 27-year-old television journalist in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram district was hacked to death by alleged drug dealers who suspected him of alerting authorities about the gang, NDTV reported on Tuesday. The police have arrested four men in connection with the death.

The incident took place on Sunday evening in Kundrathur, a suburb in the outskirts of Chennai. The journalist, identified as Isravel Moses, was called out of his house in Puthu Nellore village and hacked to death, the police said. His family initially suspected that Moses was attacked by his friends.

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The police told NDTV that the accused in the case are part of a gang involved in alleged sale of encroached land and selling drugs around a local lake. “Moses had not telecast any news report on this issue,” an officer said.

According to The News Minute, Moses reported on local problems and used to expose the undercover operations of “anti-social elements” in the region. Last week, the journalist had reported on ganja sales carried out by a gang and had been facing threats from the group, the website said. Gnanaraj, the father of Moses, has alleged that the district police did not take any action on his son’s complaint that his life was in danger.

The police, however, have refuted the charges. “We did not receive any such information from him,” said D Shanmugapriya, the district police chief. “This murder is purely due to personal vengeance and land issue.”

Senior journalist Bharathi Tamizhan criticised the police over the allegations of inaction. “Moses had received death threat after he reported on anti-social activities including sale of ganja in areas under Somangalam police station limits,” Tamizhan said. “His murder has happened amid inaction by police. This murder for a news highlights the shameful lack of security for journalists in Tamil Nadu.”