Seattle: The US city of Seattle has agreed to a $29 million (Rs 2.62 billion) settlement with the family of Jhanvi Kandula, a 23-year-old Indian student who lost her life when she was hit by a police officer’s speeding car in 2023. Kandula was hit by officer Kevin Dave’s car while he was traveling at 119 km/h in a 40 km/h limit area following a drug-related call. The emergency lights of his car were burning and sirens were also sounding at the intersections. “The death of Jahnvi Kandula is tragic and the city hopes this settlement will provide some measure of satisfaction to the Kandula family,” City Attorney Erica Evans said in a statement Wednesday. Jhanvi Kandula’s life was very important. It meant so much to his family, friends and our community.

Who was Jhanvi Kandula?

Kandula was pursuing a master’s degree in information systems at Northeastern University in Seattle. Lawyers for Kandula’s family did not immediately respond. Both parties announced the settlement in King County Superior Court last Friday. Local website ‘Publicola’ was the first to report on this agreement. There were massive demonstrations after Kandula’s death. People’s anger increased further when a body camera recording of an officer surfaced in which he was heard laughingly calling Kandula’s life ‘insignificant’ and saying that the city should ‘just write a cheque’.

Policemen dismissed in America

Indian diplomats had also demanded investigation into the matter. The city’s civilian watchdog found that comments made by officer Daniel Orderer, a former union leader, damaged the department’s reputation and undermined public trust. Order was fired and sued the city for wrongful termination. He said his comments were meant to criticize how lawyers might react to the death.

The police department also fired the officer driving the vehicle. He was found guilty of careless driving and ordered to pay a fine of $5,000. King County prosecutors declined to bring serious criminal charges against him because it was not proven that he knowingly disregarded safety. The settlement amount of approximately $20 million is likely to be covered under the city’s insurance policy.