Bondi Shooting: Accused Migrated from Hyderabad; Family Had Cut Ties Years Ago

Sajid Akram, one of the shooters involved in the Sydney Bondi Beach attack, hailed from Hyderabad and had migrated to Australia in 1998, Telangana Police said on Tuesday.

Sajid and his son Naveed Akram allegedly carried out the attack on Sunday, killing 15 civilians during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration. While Sajid held an Indian passport, Naveed—who survived with critical bullet injuries and is currently hospitalised—is an Australian citizen. Sajid was killed in an exchange of fire with Australian police.

In a press note, the Telangana Police Director General said there was no evidence linking the radicalisation of Sajid or Naveed to India or to any local influence in Telangana. The police also stated that Sajid had no adverse criminal record in India before leaving the country in 1998.

The father-son duo are accused of carrying out what authorities have described as the deadliest terror attack on Australian soil in three decades. Among those killed were a 10-year-old girl and an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor.

According to family members who spoke to The Print and The News Minute, ties with Sajid Akram were severed years ago after he married a Christian woman. Sajid later settled permanently in Australia with his wife, Venera Grosso, a Christian woman of European origin. The couple had two children—a son and a daughter—both born in Australia and holding Australian citizenship.

Relatives said Sajid had minimal contact with the family after his marriage and did not return to India even when his father died in 2009. They also claimed he did not enquire about his elderly mother, who has been unwell.

Telangana Police said Sajid had visited India only six times in the past 27 years. Officials added that while some family members in Hyderabad are being questioned as part of routine verification, no wrongdoing has been established.