BKU leader Rakesh Tikait says he won't join Bharat Jodo Yatra
Meerut (PTI): Bhartiya Kisan Union national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait Monday said he will not participate in the Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra which is slated to enter Uttar Pradesh on January 3.
He said Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) workers are "free to participate" in the Rahul Gandhi-let march but office bearers above the rank of district presidents will not take part in it.
The Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi, is currently on winter break and will resume on January 3. The foot march began in Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and has so far traversed more than 2,800 km through 10 states.
It will enter Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad on January 3 afternoon and make a night halt at Mavikala village in Baghpat. It will pass through Shamli in Uttar Pradesh on January 4 and enter Haryana through Sanauli in Panipat on the evening of January 5.
Asked about the Yatra, Tikait said, "I am not going to participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra. But we are not stopping anyone from participating in it. The BKU workers who want to participate in the yatra are free to do so. However, office bearers above the rank of district presidents will not participate in the yatra."
"Ours is an apolitical organisation. People from different ideologies are in our organisation. I am not going to the Yatra, but there can be someone or a farmers' organisation which is going to the yatra," he told PTI over phone.
"We protested against the wrong policies of governments, theirs (Congress') as well. Our protests are going on in Chhattisgarh," Tikait said.
Asked whether he has got any invitation for the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Tikait said, "Yes. I am getting invitations from their leaders. I want to talk to them about their agricultural policies. I will speak to them (Congress leaders) in Haryana on January 9."
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Slain Australia beach shooting suspect native of Hyderabad: T'gana police
Hyderabad/Melbourne (PTI): Sajid Akram, the 50-year-old slain suspect in a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia, was an Indian citizen hailing from Hyderabad, Telangana Police revealed on Tuesday.
While he had migrated to Australia 27 years ago, Akram carried an Indian passport. Akram, along with his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, recently travelled to the Philippines on an Indian passport.
Akram, one of the two suspects in the mass shooting that has left 15 people dead and dozens injured, migrated to Australia in 1998 and had limited contact with his family here since then, the Telangana DGP's office said in a statement.
"Sajid Akram (50) is originally from Hyderabad, India. He completed his B.Com degree in Hyderabad and migrated to Australia in search of employment, approximately 27 years ago, in November 1998," it said.
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He married a European-origin woman before settling permanently in Australia. The couple have one son, Naveed (the second suspect who is in custody at a hospital in Australia) and one daughter, it said.
Naveed and Akram's daughter were born in Australia and are citizens of that country, the statement said.
On Tuesday, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett described the mass shooting as "a terrorist attack inspired by the Islamic State."
According to Australian authorities, the suspects were a father and son, aged 50 and 24. The older man, who was identified as Sajid Akram, was shot dead.
The Telangana police said Akram visited India on six occasions after migrating to Australia, primarily for family-related reasons such as property matters and to meet his elderly parents.
It is understood that he did not travel to India even at the time of his father's demise, the statement said.
The family members have further expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation, police said.
"The factors that led to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed, appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana," Telangana police said.
Telangana Police further said it has no adverse record against Akram during his stay in India before his departure in 1998.
The state police said it remains committed to cooperating with central agencies and other counterparts, as and when required, and urged the public and media to avoid speculation or attribution without verified facts.
Quoting security sources, Australia's ABC News reported that Akram and Naveed travelled to the Philippines to receive "military-style training".
"Investigators are now examining the Akrams' ties to an international jihadist network, after discovering the pair travelled to Manila in early November," it said, quoting officials briefed on the investigation.
The Philippines Bureau of Immigration confirmed the pair arrived in the Philippines from Australia on November 1, declaring the southern city of Davao - a hotbed for Islamic militants since the 1990s - as their destination, it said.
"They left the country on November 28, 2025, on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination," ABC News quoted the Philippines' Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval as saying.
Sandoval said Akram entered the country on an Indian passport, while his son, Naveed, entered on an Australian passport.
In the Philippines, Undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Office and Press Officer for Malacanang Palace Claire Castro said that the National Security Council (NSC) is currently looking into reports that the father and son duo travelled to the country a month before the attack.
