India has demanded a probe into the death of an Indian student, Jaahnavi Kandula, who was hit and killed by a police car as she was crossing a street in Seattle, United States. This comes amid massive outrage over a purported bodycam video in which a police officer is heard joking and laughing about Kandula’s death.
The Consulate General of India in San Francisco on Wednesday termed the incident and the now viral video of the cop’s reaction as “deeply troubling”.
“We have taken up the matter strongly with local authorities in Seattle & Washington State as well as senior officials in Washington DC for a thorough investigation and action against those involved in this tragic case,” the mission said in a post on platform X (formerly Twitter).On the other hand, the US has assured of a fair probe into this incident. The video shows officer Daniel Auderer laughing about the deadly crash and saying there was no need for a criminal investigation against his colleague Kevin Dave, who was driving the car. The 23-year-old was from Andhra Pradesh and pursuing a master’s degree from the Northeastern University campus in South Lake Union. She went to the US from Bengaluru on a student exchange programme in 2021 and was due to graduate this December.
Kandula’s family is deeply distressed by the revelations. Her grandfather said that the family had not recovered from loss and the policeman’s behaviour makes it worse. “How can anyone speak like that after a tragic accident?” he asked.
Kandula was hit and killed by a police car while crossing the street. According to The Seattle Times, Kevin Dave, the police officer driving the car was going 119 kmph and the graduate student’s body was thrown more than 100 feet. Later, she was taken to Harbourview Medical Centre, but died due to her injuries.
