The police said the suspects were given arms training by associates of elusive Maoist leader Kalidas.

In what appears to be a pre-emptive action to foil an armed assault on leaders of a particular community, the Dharmapuri police on Saturday arrested six persons and recovered two country-made guns and explosives.

The police said the suspects were given arms training by associates of elusive Maoist leader Kalidas. On a tip-off, the police arrested the six belonging to Natham Colony and recovered the arms and explosives from their premises and a burial ground.

Preliminary inquires revealed that the suspects were planning to avenge the death of Ilavarasan, the Dalit youth, whose body was found along a rail track in Dharmapuri on July 4 last year. His first death anniversary was just six days away. .

The arrested were identified as S. Sakthi (35), M. Durai (46), C. Santhosh (22), S. Adhiyaman (23), G. Ashok (28) and G. Shankar (35).

IGP (West Zone) S. Davidson, DIG (Salem Range) A. Amalraj and Dharmapuri Superintendent Asra Garg visited the places from where the arms were recovered and interrogated the accused.

A case under the Indian Arms Act, the Explosives Substances Act, 1908, and the IPC were registered against the suspects. They were produced in a local court and remanded in judicial custody.

Meanwhile, Natham Colony residents thronged the Collectorate to present a petition, seeking the release of the arrested persons. They threatened to surrender their family cards and voter identity cards to the authorities and vacate the colony if they were not released.

Ilavarasan’s wife Divya, who belongs to the Vanniyar community, left him after informing the Madras High Court that she wanted to live with her mother. The marriage led to her father committing suicide in Dharmapuri, followed by a major attack on Dalit colonies in 2012.