Close on the heels of the killing of the CEO of the Indian arm of an Italian firm near Noida, unidentified youths made an attempt to kidnap a 37-year-old top executive of an American software company.

Ashish Dwivedi, CEO of Indian wing of US-headquartered Expedien e Solution Limited, said he was driving back home at Sector 60 in Noida last night when a Tavera vehicle overtook and forced him to halt at around 9.30 pm.

"The assailants broke the front glass of the car and dragged me out. They tried to push me into their vehicle. However, I lied on the road and managed to provide resistance," he said adding that the youths ran away after seeing people who came to his rescue on raising an alarm.

Dwivedi was taken to a hospital where he was discharged after first aids, police said.

An FIR has been registered and a hunt launched to trace the attackers, Superintendent of Police (city) A K Tripathi said.

L K Chaudhury, the CEO and Managing Director of Cerlikon-Graziano Transmissions India Pvt Ltd in Udyog Vihar, was killed on September 22 when agitating workers turned violent and beat him up with an iron rod after a meeting called to resolve the dispute between them and the management failed.