This is an archive article published on February 23, 2024
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‘No justice, no closure’: Family of Jaahnavi Kandula as US police officer is let off the hook
In September, an audio emerged wherein an officer investigating the case could be heard joking about her death, and saying it had limited value and a cheque for $11,000 would suffice.
Jaahnavi was killed on January 5 last year when a police car driven by officer Kevin Dave struck her near Northeastern University’s Seattle campus.
A family member told The Indian Express, “First they joked about it, now the officer responsible has been let off. There is no justice and no closure for us. It is devastating.”
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Jaahnavi was killed on January 5 last year when a police car driven by officer Kevin Dave struck her near Northeastern University’s Seattle campus. She was 23 and was pursuing a MS in Information Systems. In September, an audio emerged wherein an officer investigating the case could be heard joking about her death, and saying it had limited value and a cheque for $11,000 would suffice.
Hailing from Halvi village in Kowthalam Mandal of Kurnool district, Jahnavi’s parents live in Adoni, where her mother K Vijayalakshmi was a school teacher while her father K Srikanth had retired from the police department. “We keep receiving one bad news after another about the case,” said a family member. Her mother has withdrawn into a shell while her sister remains traumatised, the family said.
Hailing from a middle-class family, Jahnavi first studied at a government school before joining the Dr Jyothirmayi Degree College at Adoni. She completed her B.Com in 2019 and went to the US in September 2020 to pursue the two-year MS course, which was to finish in December.
Disgraceful & absolutely unacceptable !
I demand the @USAmbIndia to take up the matter with US Government authorities and deliver justice to the family of young Jaahnavi Kandula
BRS chief KTR also posted on social media, calling the decision “disgraceful and absolutely unacceptable”. In his tweet, he demanded that the Indian Embassy take up the matter with US authorities and deliver justice to the family. “I request the External Affairs Minister to take up the matter with his counterpart and demand an independent investigation into the matter. It is tragic that the life of a youngster with soaring ambitions has been cut short, but what’s more tragic is the callous disregard for justice to the victim.
Jaahnavi was killed on January 5 last year when a police car driven by officer Kevin Dave struck her near Northeastern University’s Seattle campus. 
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