Indian student pushed to death in botched drill

New Delhi: Indian police have arrested a drill instructor who pushed a university student from the second floor of a building to her death during a bungled training exercise, officials said.

Horrified onlookers watched as the 19-year-old struck a concrete landing after being shoved off a ledge by the instructor on Thursday.

A crowd of students positioned below with a crash net could only watch as the student cracked her head violently in the awkward fall before tumbling to the ground.

The incident was captured on video and provoked outrage after the footage went viral online.

“We are investigating who organised the drill and have arrested the trainer,” a police officer in southern Coimbatore city, where the accident occurred, said yesterday.

“The victim sustained fatal injuries on her neck and head. The trainer has been charged with causing death due to negligence,” said the officer, who requested anonymity as he was not permitted to talk to the media.

The National Disaster Management Authority, which stages mock disaster drills across India, said it had not organised or sanctioned Thursday’s event.

“The trainer wasn’t authorised by NDMA to conduct such a drill,” it posted on Twitter.

Local media reports said the instructor was not certified to perform such a drill and that college authorities had not sought official permission to stage the exercise.