Death of Jaahnavi Kandula: India demands probe after US cop mocks incident

Jaahnavi Kandula, an Indian-origin student, was killed in January of this year when she was struck by a police car in Seattle, Washington. India has demanded a comprehensive probe into her death. This is in response to news stories claiming to contain a video of a police officer making jokes and laughing at the incident.

On Wednesday, the Indian Consulate General in San Francisco stated that "recent reports, including those in the media, of the handling of Jaahnavi Kandula's death are deeply troubling."

Recent reports including in media of the handling of Ms Jaahnavi Kandula’s death in a road accident in Seattle in January are deeply troubling. We have taken up the matter strongly with local authorities in Seattle & Washington State as well as senior officials in Washington DC

— India in SF (@CGISFO) September 13, 2023

The graduate student, 23, was killed in Seattle on January 23 after being struck by a patrol car driven by police officer Kevin Dave. The student's body was reportedly thrown more than 100 feet (30 meters) away as Dave was driving the vehicle at 74 mph (119 kmph), according to sources.

After the Seattle Police Department on Monday made body camera footage from accused officer Daniel Auderer available to the public, there was a huge uproar. Auderer, the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, is heard discussing the accident with guild president Mike Solan in the video tape.

Then, just as he starts to laugh, he can be heard stating, "she's dead."

Yeah, just write a check," Auderer is heard saying near the end of the video. 11,000 dollars. nonetheless, she was 26.She wasn't worth much, reported the news agency ANI.