Chennai, April 9 (IANS): Breaking her silence on the gunning down of 20 woodcutters from Tamil Nadu, AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa on Thursday urged the Andhra Pradesh government to conduct a "proper probe" into the mass killings.

Jayalalithaa said in a statement that pictures published by newspapers and the views expressed by activists gave room to doubts about the Andhra Pradesh Police version as to how why the 20 were shot dead on Tuesday.

Even if one agreed that the Tamils were involved in illegal smuggling of red sanders from Andhra Pradesh, she said it was not clear if the police had used only the minimum force.

Jayalalithaa requested Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to hold a "proper probe" into the killings and take appropriate action against policemen found guilty.

Expressing her anguish over the deaths, Jayalalithaa announced a solatium of Rs.200,000 each to the family of the deceased on behalf of the AIADMK.