Indian authorities and Australian investigators are piecing together the background of Sajid Akram, one of the two gunmen behind the deadly Bondi Beach terror attack in Sydney that killed 15 people. While Akram had roots in India’s Telangana, officials on both sides have stressed that there is no evidence linking his radicalisation to India.
The attack, carried out during a Hanukkah gathering at Bondi Beach, involved Sajid Akram, 50, and his 24 year old son Naveed Akram. Sajid was shot dead by police at the scene, while Naveed survived and has since been hospitalised. Australia’s federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett said the shooting was “a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State”.
Sajid Akram’s links to Hyderabad
Sajid Akram was originally from Hyderabad and had limited contact with his family there in recent years, Indian law enforcement agencies said. His family currently lives in the Tolichowki area of the Telangana capital and had earlier lived near Charminar until 2002.
“Somewhere between 2002 and 2004, they moved to the Tolichowli neighbourhood. In 2009, when Sajid’s father fell ill, he did not come to Hyderabad,” an intelligence official told The Indian Express.
Neighbours described the family as private. “The family is quiet; they keep to themselves. We have hardly seen Sajid here,” one neighbour said.
The Telangana Police said Sajid completed his B Com degree in Hyderabad before migrating to Australia in November 1998 in search of work. A government source told The News Minute that Akram’s father had earlier worked in Saudi Arabia and later bought an apartment in Hyderabad after returning to India.
Life in Australia and family ties cut
According to Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Akram initially arrived in Australia on a student visa and later shifted to a partner visa in 2001. In Australia, Akram married a woman “of European origin” and had a son and a daughter.
Akram’s brother, who lives in Hyderabad, told The News Minute that the family cut ties with him after his marriage to a Christian woman. Akram is said to have visited India only six times since moving to Australia.
The Times of India reported that during one visit around 2001, Akram brought his wife to Hyderabad to meet his parents and the couple conducted a traditional nikah ceremony.
Akram’s most recent visit to India was in 2022, when he came to dispose of an ancestral property. When the sale did not go through, he returned to Australia, The Indian Express reported, citing officials. Police said he did not attend his father’s funeral.
“Even when their father passed away, no one saw Sajid,” an elderly neighbour told the newspaper.
Telangana Director General of Police B Reddy said in a statement, “It is understood that he did not travel to India at the time.” An official added, “His brother has been running the house ever since then.”
A Telangana police official told BBC Telugu that Akram had “visited India on six occasions after migrating to Australia, primarily for family-related reasons such as property matters and visits to his elderly parents”.
“Telangana police have no adverse record against Sajid during his stay in India prior to his departure in 1998,” the police statement said.
No signs of radicalisation in India
Telangana Police have clearly stated that Akram was not radicalised in India. Family members in Hyderabad told investigators they were unaware of any extremist mindset or activities.
“The factors that led to the radicalisation of Sajid and his son Naveed appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana,” DGP B Reddy said.
Sources told The News Minute that Indian authorities visited the family and collected background information. Akram’s brother said they had lost touch with him for years, largely due to property disputes. He also told TNM that Sajid did not enquire about the health of their elderly mother.
Philippines trip and terror links under probe
Australian police have confirmed that Sajid Akram and his son travelled to the Philippines last month. Officials said the father used an Indian passport, while the son travelled on an Australian passport.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported, citing security sources, that the duo may have travelled to receive “military-style training”. Authorities have not officially confirmed this claim.
Philippines Foreign Affairs Minister Maria Theresa Lazaro and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong have agreed to “keep each other closely informed” about developments in the investigation.
Australian authorities have repeatedly stressed that the case is about terrorism, not religion. The federal police commissioner said the attackers “aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation, not a religion”.
ABC reported that Naveed Akram had links to Australia’s pro Islamic State network, including a controversial Sydney based cleric. Australia’s domestic intelligence agency ASIO had looked into Naveed in 2019 after discovering his links to an IS cell.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Naveed first came to the attention of authorities in 2019 “on the basis of being associated with others”. At that time, however, “an assessment was made that there was no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence”.
As investigations continue across multiple countries, officials in India have underlined one point repeatedly. While Sajid Akram had roots in Hyderabad, there is no evidence that India or Telangana played any role in his radicalisation or in the planning of the Bondi Beach attack.
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