Bhubaneswar/IBNS: The Congress workers on Thursday clashed with police after they attempted to gherao the Odisha assembly in protest against the suspension of their colleagues from the House and alleged rise in crimes against women, media reports said.

The Congress workers threw chairs as they tried to breach the barricades which were placed by the cops to thwart the protesters from marching ahead.

Water cannons were used by cops, who were in huge numbers, to disperse the crowd and control the situation.

Congress' Odisha in-charge, Ajay Kumar Lallu, claimed the protesters were detained and preventive arrests were made, India Today reported.

The protest was called against the suspension of 14 Congress MLAs from the assembly by Speaker Surama Padhy for disrupting House proceedings earlier this week.

The Congress workers took to streets also to protest against the alleged rise in crimes against women in the state after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power last year.

Police on Tuesday night entered into the Odisha Assembly and evicted the 14 Congress MLAs who were demanding a House Committee to probe into the alleged rising crimes in women since the change in government.

In a symbolic protest against the police's entry, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLAs sprinkled 'Ganga Jal' which is considered holy water in the assembly.

The MLAs of the opposition party, which is led by former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, claimed the assembly was "spiritually polluted" by the entry of cops.