Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde arrives in Jharkhand today on a day-long visit to review progress in the security situation and development initiatives in the Naxal-affected districts of the state.

Our Ranchi Correspondent informs that Mr. Shinde’s visit comes agaisnt the backdrop of the ministry’s decision to deploy additional 10 battalions of paramilitary forces in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Bihar.

Our correspondent adds that Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and senior home ministry officers are scheduled to hold meetings with the state Governor Syed Ahmed, his two advisors — K Vijay Kumar and Madhukar Gupta, besides senior civil and police officers.

The meeting will also take stock of various centrally-sponsored development schemes being presently run in Jharkhand.

Here the Maoists have destroyed a large number of schools, roads, bridges, health centres, telephone towers and government buildings in the last few years. The security situation can be gauged from the fact that there were 542 abductions and nearly 200 killings by Maoists in the last three years.

In the last four months alone, there were 55 incidents of abduction and more than 30 killings in violence by Maoists in the state.