The Telangana Police Department has released significant details confirming that the father and son responsible for a mass shooting targeting Jews during the Hanukkah festival at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in Australia are originally residents of Hyderabad, India.
The attackers, identified as Sajid Akbar and his son, Naveed Akbar, allegedly inspired by ISIS ideology, carried out the attack on Sunday, December 14, resulting in the death of 15 people (one of the attackers also died).
Hyderabad Connection Confirmed
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Sajid Akbar’s Background: Sajid Akbar is confirmed to be a resident of Hyderabad, where he completed his B.Com. He migrated to Australia in November 1998 for employment opportunities. He subsequently married Venera Grasso, a woman of European origin, and settled permanently.
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Citizenship Details: Sajid Akbar currently holds an Indian passport. His son, Naveed Akbar (who participated in the attack), and daughter are Australian citizens, having been born there.
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Limited Contact with India: According to Sajid’s relatives in India, he maintained only limited contact with his Hyderabad family over the past 27 years. He visited India only six times, primarily to resolve family property disputes, and did not even come for his father’s funeral.
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No Prior Record of Extremism: Preliminary investigations indicate that Sajid Akbar had no adverse record with the Telangana Police until he moved to Australia in 1998. The family members in Hyderabad claimed they were unaware of his radicalization or any extremist leanings.
The Telangana Police have stated that the factors leading to the radicalization of Sajid and Naveed Akbar appear to have no connection with India or local influences in Telangana. The state police are fully cooperating with central agencies and other relevant organizations on the ongoing investigation.
