New Delhi: The Bondi beach shooter had immigrated from India in 1998 while his son was born in Australia, ThePrint has learnt.
Sources in the security establishment told ThePrint that Sajid Akram, 50, hailed from Hyderabad in Telangana. Sajid was shot dead by the police at the crime scene on Sunday. His son Naveed Akram had citizenship of Australia, they added.
The 24-year-old was caught and taken to hospital where he regained consciousness, according to the New South Wales (NSW) police.
The duo targeted a Jewish Hanukkah celebration and killed at least 15 people, including a child. Two officers were also shot during the shooting.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared the shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach a ‘terrorist attack’ targeting the Jewish event.
Australian authorities, they said, had contacted their counterparts in India for more details about the two men.
“He hailed from Old Hyderabad city and still has family here, including two brothers,” a source told ThePrint, adding that Sajid did not travel to India when his father had died sometime in 2009. The sources further said Sajid last visited India in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Philippines Bureau of Immigration told Reuters that the duo travelled to the country last month and that Sajid had travelled on an Indian passport. The son was on an Australian passport, the Bureau spokesperson said, adding that they arrived and departed on the same flight on 28 November, weeks before the attack.
In a press conference Tuesday, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed the recovery of two homemade ISIS flags from the vehicle used by the two and registered in Naveed’s name. Lanyon also confirmed that the father-son duo had travelled to the Philippines but refused to reveal details around their travel to the Philippines and the history of their association with ISIS.
“I also confirmed that the vehicle which is registered to the younger male contained IEDs. But I also confirm that it contained two homemade ISIS flags. We continue to work through the motive of this tragedy and will continue to do so. And I think it’s really important that our investigators continue to be given time to do that,” the police commissioner told a press conference.
“This is a very complex investigation and (it is) important that we do it thoroughly.”
‘No adverse records in India’
Sajid completed his B.Com degree in Hyderabad before moving to Australia in search of employment in November 1998, a Telangana Police spokesperson said, adding that he married a woman of European origin and settled permanently there.
“Sajid Akram carries an Indian passport as of the date, and his son and daughter were born in Australia and are Australian citizens,” the spokesman said.
The Telangana Police added that Sajid had limited contact with his relatives in India over the past 27 years. Overall, he made only six visits to India, primarily to look after his elderly mother and to attend to property matters.
Further, the family members expressed no awareness of his recent past and inclination towards radical activities leading up to the attack in Australia.
“The factors that led to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed, appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana,” the spokesperson said. “Telangana Police has no adverse record against Sajid Akram during his stay in India before his departure in 1998.”
(This is an updated version of the report.)
Edited by Tony Rai