Video shows U.S. policeman laughing over death of Indian student killed by patrol car

Kandula, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, had been pursuing her master’s degree at Northeastern University in Seattle

A bodycam footage of a police officer joking about the death of a 23-year-old Indian student after she was struck by a speeding police patrol car earlier this year in Seattle has prompted India to raise the matter strongly with the U.S. authorities for a thorough investigation and action against those guilty in the case.

Jaahnavi Kandula was killed in January after she was struck by a police vehicle driven by Officer Kevin Dave. He was driving 74 mph (more than 119 kmph) on the way to a report of an overdose, the Seattle Times newspaper reported on Monday.

In bodycam footage released on Monday by the Seattle Police Department, Officer Daniel Auderer laughed about the deadly crash and dismissed any implication Dave might be at fault or that a criminal investigation was necessary.

Commenting the reports, the Consulate General of India in San Francisco on Wednesday termed the handling of Kandula's death in a road accident 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.

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

In the footage, Auderer, the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, was on a call with the guild's president, Mike Solan. He laughed several times, saying at one point, "Yeah, just write a cheque." "Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26 anyway," Auderer said in the video, misstating Kandula's age.