Hyderabad: Fifty year-old slain Sajid Akram, a suspect in the recent mass shooting at Bondi beach in Australia, is an Indian citizen hailing from this city, Telangana Police revealed on Tuesday.
While he had migrated to Australia 27 years ago, Akram carried an Indian passport.
Akram, one of the suspects in the mass shooting that has left 15 persons dead, migrated to Australia in 1998 and had limited contact with his family here since then, the Telangana DGP’s office said in a statement.
“Sajid Akram (50) is originally from Hyderabad, India. He completed his B.Com degree in Hyderabad and migrated to Australia in search of employment, approximately 27 years ago, in November 1998,” it said.
He married a European origin woman before settling permanently in Australia. The couple have one son, Naveed (one of the two suspected attackers) and one daughter, it said.
Naveed and Akram’s daughter were born in Australia and are citizens of that country, the statement said.
Fifteen people were killed during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in a mass shooting.
The shooting was “a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State,” Australia’s federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett said on Tuesday.
According to Australian authorities, the suspects were a father and son, aged 50 and 24. The older man, who was identified as Sajid Akram, was shot dead. His son was being treated at a hospital.
The Telangana police said Akram visited India on six occasions after migrating to Australia, primarily for family-related reasons such as property matters and to meet his elderly parents.
It is understood that he did not travel to India even at the time of his father’s demise, the statement said.
The family members have further expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation, police said.
“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,” police said.
Telangana Police further said it has no adverse record against Sajid Akram during his stay in India prior to his departure in 1998.
The state police said it remains committed to cooperating with central agencies and other counterparts, as and when required, and urged the public and media to avoid speculation or attribution without verified facts.
