The mastermind of the Sydney attack had gone to Australia from Hyderabad on a student visa, Telangana police revealed.

Sajid Akram, the man who carried out the attack during the Hanukkah festival at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, was originally from India. He was a resident of Hyderabad and had moved to Australia in 1998. Since moving to Australia, Akram had been trying to obtain Australian citizenship for many years but was unsuccessful.

According to the police, Akram last renewed his Indian passport in 2022 and had never visited Pakistan. The investigation also revealed that all his visits to India after moving to Australia were personal trips, primarily related to family and property matters. No connection to any extremist activity in India was found.

A police officer stated that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had questioned Sajid's 24-year-old son, Naveed, another accused in the Bondi Beach attack, in 2019 regarding his alleged connections to a local Islamic State cell in Sydney. However, ASIO cleared him after determining he did not pose an immediate threat.

Sajid was not under intelligence agency surveillance.

The police further stated that Sajid was not under the surveillance of Australian intelligence agencies and that neither he nor Naveed was affiliated with any extremist groups operating from India. Telangana police intelligence officials also investigated their visits to Hyderabad to ascertain the purpose of their trips and the people they met. After the investigation, the police stated that these visits were personal and Sajid mostly remained in contact with his close family.

When did he go to Australia?

It is noteworthy that Sajid left Hyderabad for Australia in 1998 on a student visa. However, he did not pursue any formal education there; instead, he worked various jobs before settling down as a fruit vendor. In 2000-2001, he married an Australian woman, Venera Grosso, and brought her to Hyderabad in 2001 to introduce her to his parents. He then visited Hyderabad again in 2004 to introduce his son Naveed to his family. However, when his father died in 2009, Sajid did not attend the funeral.