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Updated: Feb 24, 2020 19:28 IST

The violence in pockets of north-east Delhi over the amended citizenship law on Monday was mostly likely orchestrated to coincide with US President President Donald Trump’s 36-hour visit to the country, people familiar with the development said on Monday, articulating the home ministry’s assessment of the clashes.

One policeman died and many more people including security personnel were injured in the clashes that started around noon. There have been accusations at many places that the clashes took the police personnel at the spot by surprise.

The immediate trigger is a subject matter of a detailed investigation, a second senior official said.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla refused to speculate.

Bhalla said the situation is under control. “Senior officers in the field… Sufficient forces have been deployed,” he told reporters in a brief comment.

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People who are aware of the matter said Home Ministry officials had been in touch with Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik throughout the day.

The police are expected to get a grip on the situation soon, the people familiar with the matter said.

Patnaik, who had been receiving frantic calls from top functionaries in the government over the violence, had parked himself in the police control room to track the action taken on the violence.

Lt Governor Anil Baijal was one of those who phoned Patnaik. In a tweet soon after, Baijal tweeted that he had “instructed” Delhi Police to take steps to control the law and order situation in the national capital.

The violence coincided with Donald Trump’s India visit that started with an elaborate roadshow and a joint address to tens of thousands of people in Ahmedabad’s newly-built Motera stadium, the world’s largest. Trump reached Delhi by late evening after a brief stop at Agra to see the iconic Taj Mahal.

The US President will be in Delhi for another day, holding meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump’s stand-alone visit to India - he will not visit Pakistan - is being seen by the foreign ministry to “exemplify a historic relationship that has matured into a 21-century global partnership”.