Telangana police said on Tuesday that the dead gunman in Australia's Bondi beach shooting incident, Sajid Akram, was originally from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad but had limited contact with his family in India.
The attack on Sunday was Australia's worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years, and is being investigated as an act of terrorism targeting the Jewish community.
The death toll stands at 16, including one of the gunmen, identified by police as 50-year old Sajid Akram, who was shot by police. The man's 24-year-old son and alleged accomplice, identified by local media as Naveed Akram, was in critical condition in hospital after also being shot.
"The family members have expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation," Telangana state police said in a statement.
Sajid Akram completed his B.Com in Hyderabad and migrated to Australia in search of employment in November 1998, it said.
The police said the factors that led to the radicalisation of the two gunmen "appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana".
In its statement on Tuesday, Telangana police said Sajid Akram visited India on six occasions, mainly for family-related reasons, since he migrated to Australia in 1998.
There was no "adverse record" on him before he left India, the statement added.
Authorities probing Philippines trip
Australian police said on Tuesday both men had travelled to the Philippines last month and the purpose of the trip is under investigation.
Philippine immigration officials said both men travelled to Manila and onward to Davao in the south of the country on November 1 and left on November 28, just weeks before the Bondi shooting.
The father travelled on an Indian passport, while the son was on an Australian passport, officials said, adding it was not conclusive they were linked to any terrorist group or whether they received training in the country.
Islamic state-linked networks are known to operate in the Philippines and have wielded some influence in the south of the country. They have been reduced to weakened cells operating in the southern Mindanao island in recent years, far from the scale of influence they wielded during the 2017 Marawi siege.
"Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State, allegedly committed by a father and son," Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said at a news conference.
"These are the alleged actions of those who have aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation, not a religion."
Police also said the vehicle which is registered to the younger male contained improvised explosive devices and two homemade flags associated with ISIS, a militant group designated by Australia and many other countries as a terrorist organisation.
The father and son allegedly fired upon hundreds of people at the festival during a roughly 10-minute killing spree at one of Australia's top tourist destinations, forcing people to flee and take shelter before both were shot by police.
Videos have emerged of the younger shooter preaching Islam outside train stations in suburban Sydney. Authorities are still trying to piece together how he went down the path of violence.
India’s external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar spoke to his Australian counterpart Penny Wong, conveying condolences and offering support following the attack.
Three Indian students among injured
Three Indian students were among 40 people injured in the terrorist attack on Sydney's Bondi Beach in Australia, according to a media report on Tuesday.
Two out of these three students are believed to be receiving treatment in the hospital, The Australia Today news portal reported.
The names of the Indian students injured during Sunday's attack have not been disclosed yet.
The Indian students sustained injuries during the shooting, and their exact condition has not been formally confirmed yet, it said.
Tougher gun laws
Australia's gun laws are now being examined by the federal government, after police said Sajid Akram was a licenced gun owner and had six registered weapons. Akram received his gun licence in 2023, not 2015 as had been earlier stated, police said on Tuesday.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said gun laws introduced by the previous conservative Liberal-National coalition government following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania needed to be re-examined.
Former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard, who introduced the gun restrictions in 1996, said on Tuesday he didn't want to see gun law reform become a "diversion" from the need to tackle antisemitism.
The 15 victims ranged from a rabbi who was a father of five, to a Holocaust survivor and a 10-year-old girl named Matilda Britvan, according to interviews, officials and media reports. Two police officers remained in critical but stable condition in hospital, New South Wales police said.
Matilda’s aunt, Lina Chernykh, said the family was devastated by her death.
"We will be forever heartbroken," she said.