One of two Bondi Beach attackers is Indian, last visited Hyderabad in 2022: Indian officials

Sajid Akram, 50, one of the two Bondi Beach attackers who killed at least 16 people at a Jewish event on Sunday (December 14, 2025) in Australia, is from Hyderabad, Indian government officials who ran a background check on the deceased told The Hindu. He last came to India in 2022.

After migrating to Australia on a student’s visa in 1998, Akram, a resident of Tolichowki in Hyderabad, came to India only on “two-three occasions,” officials said.

“His father died in 2017; he did not even come to attend his last rites,” said a top government official said.

Another official said that Akram’s immediate family lives in Hyderabad and his elder brother is a doctor. His late father retired from the army in UAE in 1984. 

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Akram’s son Naveed, the other attacker who was shot by the police and is admitted to a hospital, was born in Australia in 2001 and is an Australian citizen.

“After completing bachelors in commerce from Hyderabad, Akram moved to Australia and married a European woman. He retained his Indian passport,” said the official.

On being asked if Akram had any local links, the official said, “Preliminary investigation does not establish any local links so far. We do not have access to his activities in Australia. His background was checked based on information from our sources.”

Australian authorities in touch with Indian officials

Sources also confirmed to The Hindu that Australian authorities are “in touch” with Indian officials about the investigation.

On Tuesday, Philippine immigration officials said that Sajid Akram had travelled to the Philippines on an Indian passport in November, along with his son Naveed Akram, who is an Australian national.

“Sajid Akram, 50, Indian national, and Naveed Akram, 24, Australian national, arrived in the Philippines together last November 1, 2025, from Sydney, Australia,” the country’s Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval told news agencies in Manila on Tuesday.

The MEA did not respond to queries for a reaction to the comments made by the Philippines officials. Officials said that it is for Australian authorities to provide details of their investigations.

Thus far, Australian authorities have declined to comment on the origins of the attackers. When asked specifically whether Sajid Akram belonged to India or to Pakistan, as reports suggested, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that such details were part of the investigation.

“So I can’t go into that detail and it wouldn’t be appropriate to undermine the investigation by going into it,” Mr. Albanese told reporters on Tuesday.