Hyderabad: The family house of Sajid Akram, one of the two attackers in Sunday’s mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia, drew heavy attention in the Toli Chowki area on Tuesday as police questioned his relatives.
Officials from the Telangana Police special branch and other units questioned Sajid’s mother and brother at their house in Tolichowki. Police action followed confirmation that Sajid Akram hailed from Hyderabad.
Television crews reached the house soon after police disclosed his Hyderabad roots, turning the quiet residential lane into a media focus. Family members told police that Sajid had limited contact with them after moving to Australia in 1998.
Bondi shooting attacker had no adverse record in Hyderabad
The mass shooting took place on December 14 at Bondi Beach, Sydney, during a public Hanukkah celebration. Reports said the attack killed 15 people and one of the two attackers. Police identified the attackers as Sajid Akram, aged 50, and his son Naveed Akram, aged 24.
Police said Sajid completed a B.Com degree in Hyderabad and migrated to Australia on a student visa in November 1998 in search of work. He later married Venera Grosso, a woman of European origin, and settled permanently in Australia. The couple had a son, Naveed, and a daughter.
Sajid carried an Indian passport, while his children were born in Australia and held Australian citizenship. Family members told police that Sajid visited India six times after migrating, mainly for property matters and family reasons. He did not visit even after his father’s death in 2009.
The family said they had no knowledge of Sajid’s radical views or activities. Hyderabad Police confirmed that Sajid had no adverse record during his stay in India before 1998. DGP Shivadhar Reddy said factors behind the radicalisation of Sajid and his son had no link to India or Telangana.
Sajid reportedly ran a fruit business in Australia. His father earlier worked in Saudi Arabia and later built the family house in Hyderabad. Police sources said Sajid last visited Hyderabad in 2022 and had explored the idea of settling here during one of his visits.