Officers from the Telangana police's intelligence wing disclosed on Wednesday that Sajid Akram, the man accused in the Sydney terror case, had been attempting to obtain Australian citizenship for several years without success. The reasons for this failure remain unclear even to his family members.
Intelligence Findings on Travel and Background
A senior police officer stated that their investigation confirmed Sajid Akram last renewed his Indian passport in 2022 and had no record of visiting Pakistan. The probe also delved into the background of his 24-year-old son, Naveed, who is also an accused in the Bondi beach killings.
The officer revealed that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had examined Naveed in 2019 over alleged connections to a local Islamic State cell in Sydney. However, the agency cleared him at the time, assessing that he did not pose an imminent threat. Notably, Sajid Akram himself was not on the radar of Australian intelligence agencies.
Scrutiny of Hyderabad Visits and Family Links
Telangana intelligence officials meticulously tracked the duo's visits to Hyderabad to determine the purpose of their trips and identify their contacts. After thorough scrutiny, the police concluded that the visits were purely personal. Sajid primarily remained in contact with his immediate family and spent his time with them.
The investigation found no evidence suggesting Sajid Akram ever traveled to Pakistan. On Wednesday, the house belonging to Sajid's brother in Hyderabad remained locked, and the phones of family members were switched off.
A Timeline of Sajid Akram's Life and Travels
Sajid Akram's journey began when he left Hyderabad for Australia on a student visa in 1998. He did not pursue formal education there, instead taking up various jobs before eventually settling as a fruit vendor.
He married Venera Grosso, an Australian of Italian descent, in 2000-2001 and brought her to Hyderabad for a traditional nikah ceremony in 2001 to introduce her to his parents. His subsequent visits to India were infrequent and brief:
- 2004: Visited to introduce his newborn son, Naveed, to the family.
- 2009: Returned a month after his father's funeral, having been unable to attend the last rites.
- 2012: Came to seek buyers for his land and house near Shalibanda.
- 2016: Visited with Naveed to sign an agreement and finalize the sale of the property.
- 2022: Made his last trip to meet family, staying for a fortnight at Al Hasnath Colony, mostly confined to the house with his mother and sister.
Police emphasized that none of these visits indicated affiliations with extremist groups operating from India. Each stay typically lasted about a week to ten days, with the 2022 visit being the longest at two weeks.
