SYDENY (Kashmir English): Indian media has finally admitted that the Sydney attacker, Sajid Akram, the man involved in the attack on Bondi Beach, was an Indian citizen.
According to media reports, Sajid Akram had moved to Australia from Hyderabad, India, in 1998.
Sources linked to Indian security agencies have said that Sajid Akram was from Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Telangana.
The reports also revealed that his son, Naveed Akram, was born in Australia.
The Telangana state police said in a statement that the family has made it clear that they were neither aware of Sajid Akram’s alleged extremist views or activities nor of the factors that led to his radicalization.
According to Australian police, both men had travelled to the Philippines last month, where the father travelled on an Indian passport while the son travelled on an Australian passport.
Authorities said the purpose of the trip was under investigation, and it has not yet been proven that they were linked to any terrorist organisation or received any training there.
The Telangana police statement further said that Sajid Akram had visited India six times since moving to Australia in 1998, mostly for family reasons, and that he had no negative or criminal record before leaving India.
It should be remembered that 16 people, including the Sydney attacker, were killed and more than 40 were injured in a horrific shooting incident on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach two days ago.
Immediately after the incident, the Israeli media started negative propaganda against Pakistan, after which the Indian media also declared the attacker to be Pakistani without verification.
However, later the international media pointed out the Indian background of the attacker, which the Indian media had to correct its news.
Thus, the fact came to light that the main attacker, Sajid Akram, was of Indian origin while his son was born in Australia.
According to foreign media, Sajid Akram arrived in Australia on a student visa in 1998 and was later issued a partner visa in 2001.
On the other hand, the Australian authorities have contacted Indian intelligence agencies to get more information about the incident.
