Hyderabad: Telangana Police confirmed on Tuesday that Sajid Akram, one of the shooters involved in the deadly shooting incident at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, actually hailed from Hyderabad and migrated to Australia in 1998.
Sajid and his son Naveed Akram killed 15 civilians on Sunday as they targeted Jews who were celebrating Hanukkah, a festival of lights.
Sajid, an Indian passport holder, died in police crossfire, while Australian citizen Naveed is battling for life in a Sydney hospital, having suffered multiple bullet injuries.
According to a press note from the Telangana DGP, there is no connection of Sajid and Naveed’s radicalisation with India or any local influence in Telangana.
Sajid’s family members in Old Hyderabad city told local media that they severed ties with him years ago because he married a Christian woman.
Sajid married Venera Grosso, a woman of European origin, and settled in Australia.
There was no adverse record against Sajid during his stay in India before his departure in 1998. Since then, he visited India six times in 27 years, police said.
Sajid married Venera Grosso, a Christian woman of European origin, before permanently settling in Australia.
The couple has a son (Naveed) and a daughter, both born in Australia.
The News Minute cited a government source as saying that Sajid’s father bought an apartment in Hyderabad after returning from Saudi Arabia decades ago. Some years later, Sajid decided to move to Australia on a student visa.
His other family members who live in Hyderabad are now under scrutiny.
They are still under shock by the father-son duo carrying out the worst terror attack on Australian soil in 30 years.
