Chandigarh, Mar 6 (IANS): Agitated over their colleagues being named in a police case, lawyers of the Punjab and Haryana High Court clashed with police near the Punjab Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh Wednesday. The police had to use force and water cannons to disperse the lawyers.

The high court lawyers, who have stopped working since Tuesday, are demanding cancellation of a first information report (FIR) lodged against senior lawyer Rupinder Singh Khosla and 19 other lawyers by the police.

To press for their demand, around 200 lawyers marched from the high court complex here to the Raj Bhavan to meet Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil, who is also the administrator of Chandigarh.

They staged a protest at the roundabout near the Raj Bhavan and refused to move until Patil meets them. Later they clashed with police who had to use batons and water canons to force them leave the high-security zone.

Later, the lawyers allegedly ransacked the security room at the high court.

The Chandigarh police had Monday booked Khosla and other lawyers for allegedly assaulting a police head constable and later ransacking a security room at the high court complex.

Khosla, a former additional advocate general of the Punjab government, had an argument with the head constable over entry into the high court complex. The argument soon resulted in a clash and the policeman was allegedly thrashed by lawyers.

A police probe into the incident blamed the lawyers for vandalising the security room and beating up the policeman.