Sydney, December 16, 2025: One of the two attackers involved in the deadly Bondi Beach shooting that killed at least 15 people during a Jewish gathering in Australia on December 14 was originally from Hyderabad in southern India, according to Indian government officials cited by The Hindu.
The attacker, identified as Sajid Akram, 50, was killed at the scene after being shot by Australian police. Indian authorities shared details of his background following a verification exercise, officials said.
According to the information provided, Sajid was a resident of Tolichowki in Hyderabad and moved to Australia in 1998 on a student visa. Since relocating, he had returned to India only “two or three times,” with his last visit recorded in 2022. His father passed away in 2017, and Sajid did not return to India to attend the funeral, a senior official said.
Indian officials further stated that Sajid’s immediate family continues to live in Hyderabad and that his elder brother is a medical doctor. Sajid retained his Indian passport after moving abroad and later married a European woman in Australia.
His son, Naveed Akram, 24, the second alleged attacker, was born in Australia in 2001 and holds Australian citizenship. Naveed was also shot by police during the attack and remains in critical condition in hospital.
“After completing a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Hyderabad, Sajid moved to Australia,” an official said, adding that Indian authorities currently have no information about his activities while living there.
Responding to questions about possible local or domestic links in India, officials said preliminary investigations had not established any such connections. “We do not have access to his activities in Australia. His background was checked based on information available to us,” one official said.
Sources told The Hindu that Australian authorities are in contact with Indian officials as the investigation continues. When asked about reports describing the attacker as being of Indian origin, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the matter was still under investigation.
“I can’t go into that detail, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to undermine the investigation by commenting further,” Albanese told reporters on Tuesday.
The Telangana state police also confirmed that Sajid was originally from Hyderabad and said he had limited contact with his family in India. “The family members have expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation,” the police said in a statement.
Travel to the Philippines
Earlier, Philippine authorities said Sajid had entered the country as an Indian national, citing his travel documents. According to the Philippine immigration bureau, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed arrived in the country from Sydney on November 1, 2025, listing Davao in the southern Philippines as their final destination.
The two spent most of November in the Philippines before leaving on November 28 on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, and then onward to Sydney, immigration officials said.
“Sajid Akram, 50, Indian national, and Naveed Akram, 24, Australian national, arrived in the Philippines together last November 1, 2025,” immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval told AFP.
Australian authorities have described the attack as a terrorist incident inspired by the Daesh (ISIS) ideology. “Early indications point to a terrorist attack allegedly committed by a father and son who had aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation,” Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said, stressing that the actions were not linked to any religion.
Police said a vehicle registered to the younger suspect contained improvised explosive devices and two homemade flags associated with ISIS, a group designated as a terrorist organisation by Australia and many other countries. Videos circulating online also show Naveed preaching outside suburban Sydney train stations, as investigators work to trace his path to radicalisation.
Deadliest shooting in decades
The Bondi Beach attack is being described as Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years and is being investigated as an act of terrorism targeting the Jewish community. The death toll has risen to 16, including Sajid Akram.
Among the victims were a rabbi who was a father of five, a Holocaust survivor, and a 10-year-old girl, Matilda Britvan, according to officials and media reports. Two police officers injured in the attack remain in critical but stable condition, New South Wales police said.
Prime Minister Albanese said on Tuesday that the two men had likely been radicalised by “Daesh ideology,” as authorities in Australia and abroad continue to investigate the international dimensions of the case.
