Indian consulate seeks action against US cop mocking death of Indian student ‘shocking’

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau

NEW YORK, 15th Sept. The Consulate General of India in San Francisco on Thursday has taken cognizance of the viral video in which a US cop is heard laughing over the death of an Indian student, who was hit by a speeding police van in Seattle.

Indian Consulate termed the incident “deeply troubling” has raised the issue with authorities in Washington and local administration in Seattle and demanded action against the accused cop.

“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 for a thorough investigation & action against those involved in this tragic case. The Consulate & Embassy will continue to closely follow up on this matter with all concerned authorities,” the Indian mission wrote on Twitter.

Indian student Jaahnavi Kandula 23-year-old was hit by a police van while crossing the road in January this year. The van was being driven by a policeman named Kevin Dave.

The incident came to light only this week after a purported body-cam video of the cop was flagged by a police department investigator. The video believed to be shot from the cop’s body camera was recorded just after the incident.

Seattle Police Officers’ Guild Vice President Daniel Auderer is heard laughing and saying that the girl was of a “limited value.”

They said “she’s dead”, Auderer laughs and says “it’s a regular person”, referred to Kandula.

He then said “just write a check — $11,000, she was 26 anyway, she had limited value”.

Auderer mentions that Dave was “going 50 (miles an hour)”, stated how “that’s not out of control” for a trained driver.

According to reports, the officer was driving at 74 miles per hour.

A police oversight agency in Seattle has initiated an investigation into remarks made by a leader of the Seattle Police Department union concerning the tragic death of Jaahnavi Kandula.

She lost her life in an incident involving a police cruiser linked to the union leader.

India’s ambassador to the United States has urged swift action in response to a video showed a Seattle police officer displaying inappropriate behavior after the tragic death of Kandula due to a speeding police patrol car.

Biden administration has acknowledged the matter and has assured the Indian government of a prompt investigation into the incident.

Consulate General of India in San Francisco expressed deep concern over the video, characterized it as deeply troubling.

The Consulate has taken the matter up with authorities both in Seattle and Washington, D.C.

Jaahnavi arrived in Seattle from Bengaluru in 2021 to pursue a master’s degree in Information Systems at the College of Engineering. She was on track to graduate this December.

The tragic incident occurred at the intersection of Dexter Avenue North and Thomas Street just moments after the police car had reached a high speed, as reported by Fox13 Seattle.

She was rushed to Harborview Medical Center but, sadly, succumbed to her injuries.

According to an SPD report released in June, the patrol car, driven by police officer Kevin Dave, was traveling at a speed of 74 miles per hour (119 km per hour).

The investigation identified the excessive speed of the vehicle as the primary cause of the collision, as reported by the Seattle Times.

The car began to brake less than a second before collided with Ms. Kandula and was still traveling at approximately 63 miles per hour (101 km per hour) upon impact.

 The speed limit on the street where the tragic incident occurred was 25 miles per hour (40 km per hour).