Telangana Police revealed Bondi Beach terror attacker Sajid Akram was from Hyderabad, not Pakistan as first reported. The ISIS-inspired attack by Sajid and his son Naveed killed 15. Sajid migrated to Australia in 1998 with no prior record.
Telangana Police on Tuesday stated that Sajid Akram, one of the accused in the Bondi Beach terror attack in Australia, was originally from Hyderabad, contrary to earlier reports that had identified the attackers as being of Pakistani origin.
The Telangana Police statement comes as Australian authorities continue to investigate the December 14 massacre during the Jewish community's Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach as a terrorist attack, which was carried out by a father and son duo that left 15 people dead and dozens injured. The attackers have been identified as Sajid Akram, aged 50, who was killed by Australian police, and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram. Reports indicate that the two were inspired by ISIS ideology, and investigations into the case are ongoing.
Attacker's Background and Hyderabad Connection
According to Telangana police authorities, Sajid Akram completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree in Hyderabad before migrating to Australia in November 1998 in search of employment. He later married Venera Grosso, a woman of European origin, and settled permanently in Australia. The couple has two children--a son, Naveed Akram, and a daughter. While Sajid Akram holds an Indian passport, both his children were born in Australia and are Australian citizens.
Relatives in India have indicated that Sajid Akram had limited contact with his family in Hyderabad over the past 27 years. After moving to Australia, he visited India on six occasions, primarily for family matters, including property matters and visits to his elderly parents. It is also understood that he did not return to India even at the time of his father's death, police said. Family members have said they were unaware of any radical mindset or activities linked to Sajid Akram and had no knowledge of the circumstances that may have led to his radicalisation.
Authorities have stated that the factors contributing to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana. In this context, Telangana Police said there is no adverse record against Sajid Akram during his stay in India prior to his departure in 1998.
Australian Investigation and Response
Meanwhile, commenting on the investigation, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Bondi Beach shooting appears to have been driven by extremist "Islamic State ideology." According to CNN, New South Wales police said a vehicle registered to the younger suspect contained improvised explosive devices along with two homemade ISIS flags. Albanese said the recovery of the flags showed that the "radical perversion of Islam is absolutely a problem" both in Australia and globally.
He also said authorities believe the two attackers "weren't part of a wider cell," which may have helped them evade earlier detection. Albanese made the remarks in an interview with public broadcaster ABC, as cited by CNN.
Prior Security Agency Scrutiny
Providing further details, Albanese said the younger suspect had previously come to the attention of federal security agencies and was investigated for six months by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation in 2019 "because of his connections with two people who subsequently ... went to jail." He added that the investigation concluded there was "no evidence" at the time that the individual had been radicalised.
The 24-year-old was not placed under continued monitoring after the probe ended, but authorities are now examining "whether he was radicalized further after that," Albanese said, according to CNN. Albanese also noted that the father, a licensed gun owner, was interviewed during the 2019 investigation but showed "no indication of any radicalization," adding that it was unclear whether authorities had assessed whether the father possessed firearms at that stage.
Placing the incident in a broader context, the Prime Minister said, "Antisemitism, of course, has been around for a very long period of time - that's the point. Islamic State is an ideology that, tragically, over the last decade, particularly since 2015, has led to a radicalization of some people to this extreme position, and it is a hateful action."
The Bondi Beach attack is the worst mass shooting in Australia in nearly three decades. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)