India to join Bondi Beach attack probe, focus on Sajid Akram’s Hyderabad link and India visits: Report

India to assist Australian probe over Sajid Akram’s Hyderabad and passport links

India will send a joint investigation team to Australia to assist in the probe into the deadly Bondi Beach terror attack in Sydney, with investigators focusing on attacker Sajid Akram’s Indian passport link and his past visits to India, sources told CNN-News18.

The decision to formally join the investigation follows inputs that Akram held an Indian passport, triggering jurisdictional and intelligence-sharing requirements between New Delhi and Canberra. Indian authorities said participation is necessary to verify any India-linked aspects of the case and support Australian agencies examining the broader security implications of the attack.

The Indian team is expected to include officers from state police units and central intelligence agencies. They will coordinate closely with Australian authorities to examine Akram’s background, travel history and ideological motivations, particularly amid concerns over targeted violence against Jews.

The Telangana Police on Tuesday said Akram, 50, was a resident of Tolichowki in Hyderabad but had limited contact with India after migrating to Australia. Police said there was “no adverse record against Akram during his stay in India before his departure in 1998”.

Providing further details, Telangana Police said, “Akram had limited contact with his family in Hyderabad over the past 27 years. He visited India on six occasions after migrating to Australia, primarily for family-related reasons such as property matters and visits to his elderly parents. It is understood that he did not travel to India even at the time of his father’s demise.”

“The family members have expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation. 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 police added.

Sources said investigators are closely examining Akram’s reported visit to India three to four years ago, believed to have been to meet his mother. Indian agencies are seeking clarity on the purpose of that visit, the places he travelled to, the individuals he met, and whether the trip had any role in his radicalisation, recruitment or planning.

A key focus of the joint probe is to assess Akram’s ideological leanings, including possible extremist radicalisation and online indoctrination pathways. Investigators are also examining whether the attack was driven by organised anti-Jewish hatred or influenced by international propaganda networks linked to anti-Israel movements.

While authorities have not ruled out lone-wolf radicalisation, they are also probing whether Akram had any formal or informal links with terror outfits. One sensitive line of inquiry is whether he maintained contacts, sympathisers or dormant support networks, including sleeper cells, within India.

Indian agencies are reviewing Akram’s digital footprint and financial trails, including online activity, encrypted communications, and money transfers that could indicate external influence or logistical support.

Officials stressed that India’s participation is precautionary but necessary, given the passport link and Akram’s past visits. The joint effort aims to determine whether the Bondi Beach attack was an isolated act of violence or part of a broader pattern of transnational radicalisation.

Telangana Police intelligence officers said Akram had been attempting to secure Australian citizenship for several years but did not succeed, for reasons unknown to his family.

“What we know is that Sajid renewed his Indian passport last in 2022 and did not visit Pakistan,” a senior police officer said.

The officer added that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had examined Naveed Akram in 2019 over alleged ties with a local Islamic State cell but cleared him as not posing an imminent threat. Sajid was not on Australian intelligence radar, and authorities found no evidence linking either father or son to extremist groups operating from India.