The timeline of Sajid Akram, the individual linked to the Bondi Beach terror incident, has come under scrutiny with new revelations about his educational background. Akram, who had been believed to have finished his studies at a Muslim college in India in 1998, actually graduated two years earlier, in July 1996. This discovery leaves a mysterious two-year gap in Akram’s history before his relocation to Australia.

Documents from Anwarul Uloom College in Hyderabad, accessed by the Daily Mail, confirm that Akram earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce much earlier than previous reports suggested. However, details about his activities between graduation and his move to Australia remain unknown. Akram made his departure from India in November 1998, seemingly in pursuit of new beginnings and professional prospects.

Anwarul Uloom College, though serving the local Muslim community, is not a religious institution. The college director expressed an inability to recall Akram personally, citing the sheer volume of students—approximately 6,000 admissions annually—as a challenge for individual recognition.

The 50-year-old Akram, along with his son Naveed, aged 24 and born in Australia, allegedly fired shots at a crowd gathered for the Jewish Hanukkah festival at Bondi Beach on December 14. This attack has cast a spotlight on Akram’s past, prompting further investigation into his life before arriving in Australia.

‘On an average, around 6,000 students take admission in the college per year so it is not possible to remember all,’ he told the Daily Mail. 

Akram, 50, and his Australian-born son Naveed, 24, allegedly opened fire on a crowd celebrating the Jewish Hanukkah festival at Bondi Beach on December 14.

Fifteen people – including a 10-year-old girl – were killed and 40 others injured in the attack, which ended when Sajid Akram was shot dead by police and his son taken into custody. 

Sajid Akram was born and grew up in Hyderabad, the capital and largest city in the state of Telangana in Southern India and enrolled at Anwarul Uloom in 1993.  

Bondi Beach terrorist Sajid Akram (above) graduated from a Muslim college in India two years earlier than previously reported, leaving a significant gap in his known whereabouts before he moved to Australia

Sajid Akram (pictured conducting firearm training) was allegedly inspired by Islamic State to open fire on a crowd of Jews during a Hanukkah celebration on December 14

Sajid Akram was born and grew up in Hyderabad, the capital and largest city in the state of Telangana in Southern India and enrolled at Anwarul Uloom in 1993

Akram’s brother Dr Shahid Akram still lives in Hyderabad with his elderly mother, wife and children in a house built by their late father Khalid in 2002 in the Al-Hasanth Colony.

But in the wake of the ISIS-inspired Bondi massacre, the whole family has now fled that address in the Toli Chowki neighbourhood, leaving the premises padlocked and abandoned.

In Sydney, Sajid Akram met and married Italian-heritage Christian, Venera Grosso, then 25, in 1999.

But Indian Police told the Daily Mail the interfaith relationship sparked a furious family row for marrying outside of his religion and left him isolated from his Indian relatives.

In a possible bid to heal the rift with his estranged family, Akram later brought his new bride to India where a traditional Muslim nikah wedding ceremony was performed.

The couple returned to Sydney and lived in Lakemba in the city’s west, and Cabramatta in the south-west, before settling in nearby Bonnyrigg Heights with their two sons and a daughter. 

Telangana director general of police B. Shivadhar said Akram had visited Hyderabad six times since 1998, including once after his father’s death. 

‘Sajid came to Hyderabad in 2000, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2016, and once again in 2022,’ Mr Shivadhar told the Daily Mail. 

The director of Anwarul Uloom (above), which is not a religious school but caters for the local Muslim community, had no recollection of Akram being at the college

Records held by Anwarul Uloom College in Hyderabad (above) show Akram obtained a bachelor’s degree in commerce in July 1996, rather than 1998, as has been widely claimed.

Sajid Akram’s admission to Anwarul Uloom College is recorded in a handwritten register (above)

‘During these visits, on two or three occasions, he came regarding family property matters. He came to resolve those issues. 

‘Once, he came a month after his father’s death.’ 

Assistant Commissioner Kishan Kumar told the Daily Mail that Telangana police were supporting all investigations regarding Akram’s movements. 

‘I can say that we are supporting the investigation and not leading it,’ Mr Kumar said.

‘Our Police Chief has made it clear that Sajid has visited India six times since 1998 and there was no indication of any connection between Akram’s radicalisation and India.’

Dr Akram shared the Al-Hasanth Colony house with his elderly widowed mother and wife. He has a son and daughter, both of whom are also believed to be doctors. 

A neighbour who did not wish to be named told the Daily Mail the Akram family barely interacted with other residents, even before the mass shooting.

‘They are totally separated from the rest of the colony, though I have never seen Sajid, but his brother, Dr Shahid, too, is a very restricted person; their family doesn’t interact with anyone,’ he said. 

Akram was born and spent his early life in the South Indian city of Hyderabad, where his brother is a doctor, before moving to his new homeland in 1998. His father built this home

Akram’s brother Shahid still lives in a house in Al-Hasanth Colony built by their father in 2002 but has padlocked the premises (above) and fled since the Bondi atrocity

‘Even Dr Shahid’s daughter and son, both of whom are believed to be doctors as well, don’t talk to us. 

‘They are a bit cold, distant, or I can say inaccessible even for the neighbours.’

According to locals, investigative agencies had visited the Al-Hasanth Colony home twice since the Bondi massacre to quiz the Akram family.  

Sajid Akram migrated to Australia on a student visa before transitioning to a partner visa three years later following his marriage to Naveed’s mother.

His relatives in India have told authorities they have had limited contact with him over the past 27 years and were unaware of his extreme beliefs.

‘The family members have expressed no knowledge of his [Sajid’s] radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation,’ Indian police said.

‘The factors that led to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana.’ 

Australian authorities are investigating a trip Sajid and Naveed Akram took to the Philippines before the terror attack. 

Sajid Akram and his son Naveed are pictured on a bridge in Bondi during the December 14 terrorist attack

Philippines immigration officials have confirmed the pair travelled to the south-east Asian country on November 1 and returned to Australia on November 28.

Their last known destination was listed as Davao, a popular tourist city on the southern island of Mindanao, which has long been associated with Islamic State activity. 

However, Philippine authorities have denied the region was an IS training hotspot and said there was no evidence the pair engaged in military exercises during their visit.

Two Islamic State flags were allegedly found inside the car the father and son used to travel to Bondi.

Investigators also allegedly found an ISIS-propaganda style video inside the Campsie apartment in Sydney’s south-west the pair had rented in the lead-up to the attack.

Police will allege that four firearms were found at the massacre scene and two more – all legally owned – were recovered during property searches.

Naveed Akram, who was critically injured during a shootout with police at Bondi, has been charged with 59 offences – including 15 counts of murder.

Those killed were: Alex Kleytman, 87, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, 39, Reuven Morrison, 62, Matilda, 10, Tibor Weitzen, 78, Marika Pogany, 82, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, 41, Dan Elkavam, 27, Peter Meagher, 61, Edith Brutman, 68, Boris Tetleroyd, 68, Tania Tretiak, 68, Adam Smyth, 50, and Boros Gurman, 69 and Sofia Gurman, 61.