Telangana Police on Tuesday confirmed that Sajid Akram, one of the perpetrators of the deadly Bondi Beach shooting in Sydney, originally hailed from Hyderabad and had migrated to Australia in 1998. According to officials, Sajid carried out the attack along with his son, Naveed Akram, resulting in the deaths of 15 civilians during a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday. While Sajid continued to hold an Indian passport, his son was an Australian citizen by birth.
Police said Sajid Akram was killed during a shootout with Australian law enforcement at the scene, while Naveed sustained critical gunshot injuries and is currently undergoing treatment in hospital under police custody.
In a statement issued by the Telangana Director General of Police, authorities clarified that there was no evidence to suggest that the radicalisation of Sajid or his son had any link to India or to local influences in Telangana. The note emphasised that their path towards extremism appeared to have developed entirely outside India.
The father and son are accused of carrying out what has been described as Australia’s deadliest terror attack in three decades. Among those killed were a 10-year-old child and an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, underscoring the brutality of the assault, which specifically targeted members of the Jewish community gathered to celebrate Hanukkah.
Telangana Police also stated that Sajid Akram had no criminal or adverse record during his time in India before leaving the country in 1998. After settling in Australia, his contact with India remained minimal. Over a span of 27 years, he is reported to have visited India only six times, suggesting limited ongoing ties with his country of origin.
Further details revealed that Sajid married Venera Grosso, a Christian woman of European origin, before permanently settling in Australia. The couple had two children—a son, Naveed, and a daughter—both of whom were born in Australia and hold Australian citizenship. Sajid, however, retained his Indian passport throughout this period.
Family members in Hyderabad have told media outlets that they had severed all ties with Sajid many years ago. According to relatives, the break occurred after Sajid married outside the community, a decision that reportedly caused a permanent rift within the family. Sources cited by The Print and The News Minute said the family distanced themselves from him because he married a Christian woman.
Sajid’s brother, who lives in Hyderabad, told The News Minute that Sajid had moved abroad more than 25 years ago and gradually cut off contact with the family. He said Sajid did not return to India even when their father passed away in 2009, nor did he enquire about their elderly mother, who has since been unwell.
A government source quoted by The News Minute added that Sajid’s father had purchased an apartment in Hyderabad after returning from Saudi Arabia, around the same time Sajid left for Australia on a student visa in 1998. Since then, Sajid’s interactions with family members in India were reportedly negligible.
In the aftermath of the attack, relatives of Sajid Akram, who still reside in Hyderabad, are reportedly under scrutiny by authorities as part of routine verification, even though police have reiterated that there is no indication of any local involvement or support network in India connected to the crime.
