Actress Priyanka Chopra reacted to the news of the death of Indian-origin woman Jaahnavi Kandula. The 23-year-old died on January 23, 2023, when he was hit by a Seattle police patrol car in the US. Months after her death, a recording surfaced from her body-worn camera of two union leaders from the Seattle Police Department joking about her death. (Also read | Priyanka Chopra hits back at 9-year-old Indian-origin girl who sang US national anthem at US Open)
Priyanka reacts to Jaahnavi's death
Taking to Instagram Stories on Saturday night, Priyanka re-shared a post from People. She wrote, “It is appalling to learn that such a tragic incident that happened 9 months ago is only now coming to light. A life is a life. One cannot put any value on it.” Jaahnavi hailed from Andhra Pradesh. He was pursuing a master's degree from Northeastern University's South Lake Union campus and was set to graduate in December of this year.
Farhan earlier condoled Jaahnavi's death
Recently, director-actor Farhan Akhtar took to Instagram and expressed his condolences. “#JaahnaviKandula. We didn't know each other, but I know that as a student preparing to make a place for herself in the world, your potential was limitless and your worth immeasurable. Condolences to your family. RIP,” she wrote, adding a photo of Jaahnavi.
Northeastern University will award Jaanhavi her degree posthumously
Northeastern University has announced that it will award Jaanhavi's degree posthumously. The announcement was made by the Chancellor of the University, Kenneth W Henderson, who reaffirmed the hope that the ongoing investigations will bring a measure of justice and accountability. “The university plans to award Jaahnavi her degree posthumously and present it to her family,” the university said on its Facebook page.
What happened to Jaahnavi
On September 11th, the Seattle Police Department released body camera footage of Officer Daniel Auderer. Daniel left his body camera on after responding to the South Lake Union area, where a patrol car driven by another officer, Kevin Dave, struck and killed Jaahnavi Kandula, according to a report by NBC News.
A day after the incident, police said the officer was responding to a “priority 1” call. In the video, Daniel, who serves as vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Association, drove and talked about the accident on a call with union president Mike Solan.
In the video, Daniel said “she's dead” before bursting into laughter. Referring to Jaanhavi, he said, “No, she is a normal person.” Towards the end of the clip, she also said, through bursts of laughter, “Yeah, just write a check. Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26 anyway,” misstating her age. “He further said, 'It was of limited value,'” the New York Post reported.
