NEW DELHI (AFP) - Police on Monday said they have charged four men with kidnapping the India head of French multinational engineering group Alstom following their arrests over the weekend.

Three of the suspects were arrested on Saturday in the northern Indian city of Meerut where the victim, Mr Rathin Basu, was taken after he was seized in Noida, a suburb of the capital New Delhi.

"The fourth suspect was arrested in Noida on Sunday and they have been charged with kidnapping for ransom," Meerut Deputy Inspector General of Police K. Satyanarayan told AFP by telephone.

Mr Satyanarayan did not say where or when the suspects would appear in court.

Mr Basu was abducted late Friday by a group of five men, at least one of whom was armed, according to police.

The kidnappers forced the executive to stop his car before bundling him into their own vehicle in Noida before driving to Meerut, some 80 km north of Delhi.

The abduction sparked a manhunt involving 70 policemen and Mr Basu was freed after a firefight between police and his captors on Saturday.

The executive was found handcuffed in a small room, police said.

Mr Basu's family did not receive demands for ransom during his brief period in captivity, police said.