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IN PHOTO: Australian police officers are seen at a house in the suburb of Glenroy in Melbourne, which was raided in connection to planned terror attacks August 4, 2009. Australian police have arrested several people in the southern city of Melbourne on suspicion of planning to carry out a terror attack, police said in a statement on Tuesday. "Police believe members of a Melbourne-based group have been undertaking planning to carry out a terrorist attack in Australia and allegedly involved in hostilities in Somalia," the statement said. REUTERS/Mick Tsikas

An inquest into the death of Abdul Numan Haider, the 18-year-old boy who was killed in a single fatal shot by the police when he stabbed two of them with knife outside a Melbourne Police Station in September last year, will hear 155 witnesses and examine 3,000 pages of evidence.

Haider was killed in a clash with police in September last year, outside the Endeavour Hills police station located to the south-east of Melbourne. According to the reports of the ABC news, in an earlier hearing of the coroner, it was stated that Haider was summoned to the police station for a discussion regarding the cancellation of his passport.

According to The Australian, the teen was carrying a knife with him when he met the officers of the Joint Counter Terrorism Team. He asked the officers to meet with him outside the police station and attacked them with the knife when they came outside, which induced one of the police officers to fire a fatal shot into his head.

Further evidences gathered from security agencies like the ASIO and the joint counter-terrorism taskforces would also be heard at the inquest. These agencies would redact the portions of the evidences that are too sensitive in nature. The matter will be heard in court again on September 7.

Haider came to Australia with his family about a decade back from Afghanistan. He began to share a comfortable space with people nurturing radical Islamist beliefs since few years prior to his death. He associated himself quite strongly with the members of Springvale based Al-Furqan Islamic Centre, which ceased to exist after most of its young members from south east Melbourne were arrested for plotting the Anzac Day terror.

A number of cases of young Australians who associated themselves with radical Islamic groups have been reported earlier as well and many of them came in direct clash with the police. The growing number of teenagers being lured to radicalism is alarming.

According to the ABC News, Ali Kadri who works in Brisbane at the Holland Park Mosque believes these teenagers are looking out for some sort of recognition and are often misguided in the process. "Employment is a problem, alienation is a problem, marginalisation is a problem. So you create a program, which attracts people like this. And they will come to you," he added.

Contact the writer on debleenasarkar26@gmail.com

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