NEW DELHI, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Sacked employees beat to death the India head of an Italian industrial gear manufacturing company near the nation's capital, police said on Tuesday.

Lalit Kishore Choudhary, the 47-year-old chief executive officer of Graziano Transmissioni India, died on Monday after sacked employees beat him up in the company's office in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh state, a senior officer said.

The confrontation followed a long industrial dispute at the factory, which led to the dismissal of hundreds of employees.

"The dismissed employees turned violent during a meeting with the management," R.K Chaturvedi, a senior police officer said by telephone, adding that 63 people had been arrested.

Angry workers damaged office property and singled out Choudhary when he tried reason with the mob, he said. (Reporting by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Simon Denyer and Sanjeev Miglani

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