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One of the gunmen behind the mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach had links to Hyderabad, the Telangana Police said. Fifty-year-old Sajid Akram finished his Bachelor of Commerce in the city before migrating to Australia in November 1998 after marrying a woman of European origin, it said.
“Telangana Police has no adverse record against Sajid Akram during his stay in India prior to his departure in 1998,” the police said in a release. The factors that allegedly led to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son Naveed did not seem to have any connection with India, it added.
Naveed Akram was born in Australia and is an Australian citizen, the police noted.
Fifteen people were killed on Tuesday when a shooting targeting a celebration of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah at Bondi Beach. Forty-two people were hospitalised, including five in critical condition. Sajid Akram was shot dead by police at the scene, while Naveed Akram was taken to hospital. Read more.
The Kerala government directed the organisers of the 2025 International Film Festival of Kerala to go ahead with its full screening schedule, including 14 films for which the Union government has not granted permission.
