Attacker involved in Bondi beach incident hails from Telangana: Indian media

SYDENY: Indian police have said that the attacker who died in the shooting incident in the Australian city of Bondi Beach, Sajid Akram, was originally a resident of Hyderabad in the Indian state of Telangana, but he had limited contact with his family.

According to the police, 50-year-old Sajid Akram was killed in police firing, while his 24-year-old son and alleged accomplice, Naveed Akram, is undergoing treatment in a critical condition in hospital after being shot.

In a statement, the Telangana state police said that the family has made it clear that they were not aware of Sajid Akram’s alleged extremist views or activities, nor did they know what led to his extremism.

According to the Australian police, the father and son had traveled to the Philippines last month, where the father used an Indian passport and the son an Australian passport.

Authorities are investigating the purpose of the trip, and it has not yet been proven whether the two were affiliated with any terrorist organization or received any training there.

Telangana police further said that Sajid Akram had visited India six times after moving to Australia in 1998, mostly for family reasons, and had no negative or criminal record before leaving India.

It may be recalled that 16 people, including the attacker, were killed and more than 40 were injured in a horrific shooting incident on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach two days ago.