Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI,SEPT 14: 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 & action against those involved in this tragic case,” the mission said in a post on platform X (formerly Twitter).

“The Consulate & Embassy will continue to closely follow up on this matter with all concerned authorities,” it added.

COP RECORDED JOKING ABOUT JAAHNAVI KANDULA’S DEATH

The video clip released by the Seattle Police Department stirred controversy after it showed Officer Daniel Auderer laughing as he discussed the death of 23-year-old Northeastern University graduate Jaahnavi Kandula, who was killed in January after being struck by a patrol car, driven by another cop, Kevin Dave.

According to The Seattle Times, citing a police investigation report, the officer driving the car was going 74 mph (119 kmph) and the graduate student’s body was thrown more than 100 feet (30 metres).

Auderer, an impairment recognition officer, was called to the scene to evaluate whether Dave was impaired. This is when his body camera recorded audio from a call he made to a colleague.

The footage features the officer inside the police vehicle making the disturbing comment that the victim “had limited value anyway” and that the city should “just write a check.”

He laughs about the deadly crash and dismisses any implication the officer might be at fault or that a criminal investigation was necessary.

-PTI