Bondi Beach Shooter Did Not Visit India Even After Father's Death: Police

The mass shooting at a public Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday resulted in the deaths of 15 victims and one of the two attackers.

Sajid Akram, one of the two shooters involved in the deadly Bondi Beach attack in Sydney, had not returned to India even after his father’s death and had very limited contact with his family after moving to Australia in 1998, Police officials said.

Telangana Director General of Police B Shivdhar Reddy said there is no criminal or adverse record against Sajid Akram during his time in India before leaving the country more than two decades ago.

In an official statement, the DGP said the reasons behind the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed Akram, do not appear to be linked to India or to any local influence in Telangana.

"As per information available from his relatives in India, Sajid Akram had limited contact with his family in Hyderabad over the past 27 years. He visited India on six occasions after migrating to Australia, primarily for family-related reasons such as property matters and visits to his elderly parents. It is understood that he did not travel to India even at the time of his father’s demise," the police statement said.

The mass shooting at a public Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday resulted in the deaths of 15 victims and one of the two attackers.

The attackers have been identified as Sajid Akram, 50, and his son, Naveed Akram, 24. Australian authorities are investigating reports that the duo was influenced by ISIS ideology.

Sajid Akram is originally from Hyderabad. He completed his B.Com degree there before moving to Australia on a student visa in November 1998 in search of work.

He later married Venera Grosso, a woman of European origin, and settled permanently in Australia. The couple has two children, Naveed and a daughter. While Sajid still holds an Indian passport, both children were born in Australia and are Australian citizens, police said.

Hyderabad Police confirmed that Sajid had no criminal history during his stay in India. 

According to police, Sajid ran a fruit business in Australia. His father had worked in Saudi Arabia and later returned to India, where he built a house in Hyderabad.

Reports suggest Sajid had a property dispute with his brother, and relations with family members worsened after he married a Christian woman in Australia.

Sajid last visited Hyderabad in 2022. During that visit, he reportedly explored the possibility of settling in the city again.

(With IANS Inputs)