NEW YORK, March 3: A six-member US legislators group from New Hampshire charged the Indian government with committing atrocities in occupied Kashmir and called it a “genocide and nothing less than holocaust.”

Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday after its return from a fact-finding tour of Kashmir, Representative Robert J. Giuda, who is the Deputy Majority Leader of the New Hampshire assembly, said: “I would very much like Prime Minister Vajpayee and the Indian government to proof me wrong by letting us visit held Kashmir.”

Mr Giuda complained about the silence from Embassy of India and said: “I have personally written two letters to the ambassador of India in Washington to grant my delegation visas so that we can visit the Indian side of Kashmir but unfortunately I have received no letter.”

He asked the Indian government to let the UN inspectors, human rights activist, and journalists visit the occupied territory.

New Hampshire Senator Frank V. Sapareto talking about his visit said: “It is a pure genocide, nothing less then a holocaust — unfortunately by the second largest democracy in the world.”

Mr Sapereto further said: “Children are being killed by Indian army, this has to stop.”

Rep. Henry W. McElroy Jr. agreeing with the conclusions of his colleagues, said that he had no questions or doubt that the planned and structured genocide was being carried out by the Indian government.

He said: “We have taken pictures and we will provide this along with our fact-finding sheet to the businesses that deal with Indian companies and ask them to stop doing business with India.

“There is no doubt that there is a systematic rape of women in the valley and systematic killing of children by the Indian government,” McElroy said.

Rep. Michael Albert said that he would write to the US president and the congress to press India to open talks with Pakistan over the Kashmir dispute.

The delegation comprised representatives Robert J. Guide, Saghir A. Tahir, Michael Albert, Henry McElroy, Kimberley Dionne and Senator Frank V. Sapareto.