Federal authorities allege the pair are “criminal illegal aliens” from India and claim they were operating the semi-truck using Commercial Driver Licences issued by the state of California.
A 27-year-old Sydney man appeared before Parramatta Local Court on 28 December 2025, accused of driving his taxi at officers during an attempted arrest at the airport a day earlier.
The court heard that in July 2024, investigators from the Australian Federal Police identified the man’s involvement in a scheme in which he was paid to collect unlawful non-citizens arriving by boat in the Northern Territory.
Naveed Akram has been charged with one count of committing a terrorist act, 15 counts of murder, and 40 counts of causing wounding or grievous bodily harm with intent to murder.
Police earlier said Shubham was in waist-deep water with his friends when he took a few steps forward, fell into a deeper section and did not resurface.
Prof. Varshney, Director of the Centre for Crop and Food Innovation (CCFI), the WA State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre, and Murdoch University’s International Chair in Agriculture and Food Security, is one of only four Australians to have received the honour since the list was launched in 2024.
Reflecting on her month-long journey, Paige said the warmth she encountered wherever she travelled was one of the main reasons she had developed such a strong affection for India.
