Who Was Jaahnavi Kandula? The United States has promised a fair investigation after a video of a cop joking about the death of an Indian student, Jaahnavi Kandula, in Seattle after she was hit by a speeding police car went viral.
The Indian Consulate in San Francisco had expressed concern about the case’s handling. Officer Daniel Auderer can be seen in the video laughing about the fatal crash and saying there was no need for a criminal investigation into his colleague Kevin Dave, who was driving the car.
Who was Jaahnavi Kandula?
The 23-year-old was from Andhra Pradesh and was studying for a master’s degree at Northeastern University’s South Lake Union campus.
She went to the United States on a student exchange programme from Bengaluru in 2021 and was set to graduate this December.
The revelations have deeply upset Ms Kandula’s family. Her grandfather told NDTV that the family had not recovered from the loss, and the officer’s behavior exacerbated the situation. “How can anyone speak like that after such a tragic accident?” he questioned.
What happened on January 23?
According to the Seattle Times, Officer Auderer was called to the scene, and his body camera captured audio from a call he made to a colleague.
“But she’s dead,” the officer is heard saying before bursting out laughing. “No, it’s just an ordinary person.” “Just write a cheque,” he says before laughing again.
“11 thousand dollars.” She was, after all, 26. She was of limited worth.”
The footage was released by the Seattle Police Department on Monday, causing outrage on social media. “Sue the police department…that’s how they’ll learn to respect the dead,” one X (formerly Twitter) user suggested.
“If this was an American citizen killed on Indian soil then USA would have shaken up the Indian government to the roots! Those policemen should be punished in prison or their license should be permanently suspended,” said another.
What officer Audrer said after the outrage?
Officer Auderer stated that his remarks were taken out of context. According to Jason Rantz, a radio host, he has a written statement from the police officer stating that his comments were intended to mimic how city attorneys might try to minimize liability for the woman’s death.
But Mr Kandula’s family is surprised that this information was not revealed earlier. “We have lost our child but this is beyond shocking,” her grandfather told NDTV.
