Bondi Beach Shooter’s Family Cut Ties Over His Marriage

The family of Sajid Akram, one of the two gunmen involved in the deadly shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, cut ties with him decades ago following his marriage.

Relatives in Hyderabad, where Akram was originally from, said contact with him sharply diminished after he married Venera Grosso, a Christian woman of European origin, and later stopped altogether.

According to Akram’s brother, the family severed relations after the marriage.

The brother, who was not named, said: “Sajid had left Hyderabad for Australia more than 25 years ago and later married a Christian, after which the family cut ties with him.”

Telangana Police said Akram migrated to Australia in November 1998 after completing a B.Com degree in Hyderabad. He later married Verena Grosso and settled there.

Police said Akram visited India only six times after moving abroad, mainly for property-related matters and to see his elderly parents.

He did not return even after his father’s death, which police said further reflected the breakdown in family relations.

In a statement, Telangana Police said: “The family members have expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation.”

Police said there was no adverse record against Akram before he left India.

Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son Naveed are suspected of killing 15 people and injuring dozens more at an event at Bondi Beach.

Akram was killed after an exchange of gunfire with police while Naveed was critically injured.

Naveed has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder.

Akram held an Indian passport, while his children were born in Australia and are Australian citizens.

Investigators are now examining why Akram and his son travelled to the Philippines weeks before the attack.

Philippine immigration authorities confirmed they arrived on November 1 and left on November 28.

Akram travelled on an Indian passport, while his son used Australian identification.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the pair may have gone to the Philippines to receive “military-style training”, though officials have not confirmed this.

Philippines foreign affairs minister Maria Theresa Lazaro and Australian foreign minister Penny Wong have agreed to “keep each other closely informed” on developments in the investigation.

ABC also reported that Naveed Akram had previously been investigated over alleged ties to a Sydney-based militant cell.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Naveed Akram first came to the attention of authorities in 2019 “on the basis of being associated with others”.

He said an assessment at the time found “no indication of any ongoing threat or threat of him engaging in violence”.