One of the Bondi Beach terror attack suspects, Sajid Akram (50), was originally from Hyderabad and held an Indian passport despite living in Australia for nearly 30 years.
Akram was shot dead by police, while his son Naveed Akram (24), the co-accused, survived and is under medical treatment and police watch.
Telangana Police said there was no operational or ideological link between Akram’s radicalisation and India, noting he had long severed family ties.
Bondi Beach Terror Suspect Was Hyderabad Native With Indian Passport
Sydney attack: One shooter migrated from Hyderabad in 1998, retained Indian passport.
Summary
One of the two men responsible for Sunday's mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, which killed fifteen people at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration, was originally from Hyderabad and still has an Indian passport despite having immigrated to Australia almost thirty years ago.
During the assault, police shot and killed 50-year-old suspect Sajid Akram. Authorities claim that his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram, who acted with him, survived and is receiving medical attention in a hospital under police supervision. The attack was characterised by Australian investigators as a terrorist act motivated by the alleged Islamic State group.
The Telangana Director General of Police said Sajid Akram, aged 50, was a native of Hyderabad and had migrated to Australia in November 1998, initially on a student visa. He had completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Hyderabad before leaving India in search of employment, police said.
Akram had lived in Australia for approximately 27 years and had only limited contact with his family in Hyderabad during that period. Senior Telangana police officials stressed that there was no indication of any operational or ideological connection between Akram's alleged radicalisation and India.
In 2022, Akram made his most recent trip to Hyderabad. His children, a son and a daughter, were born in Australia and are citizens of that country, but he kept his Indian passport.
Investigators claim that family conflicts caused Akram's ties with his extended relatives in Hyderabad to deteriorate years ago. It is believed that family members severed their relationship with him well in advance of the assault. Police claim that after his father passed away in 2017, Akram did not attend the funeral prayers.
Following his relocation to Australia, Akram wed Venera Grosso, a woman of European descent according to the police. Naveed and a daughter were the couple's two children. The family made Australia their permanent home.
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With inputs from NDTV
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