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Officials, diplomats, and argumentation planners successful deliberation tanks reacted with daze and disbelief on the apprehension of Ashley Tellis, an Indian-origin erstwhile U.S. authorities official, who has been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice of being successful possession of concealed defence documents, of accessing delicate accusation connected subject hardware, and was nether surveillance implicit meetings with Chinese officials for astatine slightest 3 years.
Mr. Tellis, 64, is a well-known fig and nationalist talker successful overseas argumentation circles, and knew astir officials handling the India-U.S. narration successful Delhi and Washington implicit the past decades, since his tenure arsenic Special Assistant to the erstwhile U.S. Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill (2000-2003).
The quality was peculiarly astonishing for officials of the Ministry of External Affairs, fixed however Mr. Tellis had what 1 erstwhile authoritative called “extraordinary access” to each levels of overseas policy, defence, and nationalist information structures successful New Delhi.
“Ashley was among the fewer foreigners who had an arsenic bully equation with both (the precocious former) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,“ a erstwhile official, who called Mr. Tellis a “highly regarded scholar”, said. In 2014, a publication co-edited by Mr. Tellis, titled Getting India Back connected Track: An Action Agenda for Reform, was launched by Mr. Modi astatine his residence, and successful 2022, different publication helium co-edited, titled Grasping Greatness, was released by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
Over the weekend, Mr. Tellis was arrested for the “unlawful retention of nationalist defence information, successful usurpation of 18 U.S.C. § 793(e)”, a instrumentality pertaining to “gathering, transmitting oregon losing nationalist information information, documents, codes, etc.”, a connection issued by the U.S. Attorney’s bureau successful Virginia said connected Wednesday, adding that a Federal territory justice would find his sentencing if helium was convicted, with up to 10 years successful situation oregon fines.
The 10-page affidavit filed by Intelligence Analyst and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent Jeffery Scott connected October 13 said Mr. Tellis was taken into custody connected October 11, pursuing seizures astatine his residence successful the municipality of Vienna, Virginia, based connected a peculiar warrant.
“Investigators located implicit a 1000 pages of insubstantial documents with classification markings astatine the TOP SECRET and/or SECRET levels astatine assorted locations wrong the house”, the affidavit said, and that Mr. Tellis had cooperated successful directing investigators, providing keys, and unlocking his computer.
The affidavit listed 4 antithetic occasions successful 2022, 2023, 2024, and connected September 2, 2025, erstwhile Mr. Tellis met with officials of the PRC (People’s Republic of China) astatine restaurants successful Fairfax, Virginia, indicating Mr. Tellis has been nether surveillance for astatine slightest 3 years. It besides details Mr. Tellis’s login to a unafraid machine astatine the U.S. Department of Defense connected September 12, 2025, and the printing of a fig of delicate and classified documents, including 1 connected a U.S. combatant aircraft. As an unpaid Senior Advisor astatine the Department of State, and arsenic a contractor successful the Office of Net Assessment wrong the Department of Defense, Mr. Tellis had “Top Secret information clearance with entree to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI)”.
The Hindu spoke to a fig of experts, immoderate whom referred to Mr. Tellis arsenic a “close friend”, and expressed astonishment implicit the preliminary findings of a cache of classified documents astatine his location extracurricular Washington D.C. Allegations that helium had been successful interaction with Chinese officials, including a gathering connected September 15, 2022 wherever helium is alleged to person carried documents successful a “manila envelope”, and received a “red acquisition bag” from the officials, which are mentioned successful the affidavit, person been met with peculiar comment, arsenic Mr. Tellis has successful articles and speeches argued for amended India-U.S. relations successful bid to incorporate and negociate the situation from China.
The Mumbai-born diplomat graduated from St. Xavier’s College and received his doctorate astatine the University of Chicago earlier helium was picked by Mr. Blackwill arsenic a Special Assistant. Former associates astatine the U.S. Embassy successful Delhi astatine the clip callback Mr. Tellis, who was subsequently the Senior Advisor to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, R. Nicholas Burns, had worked to seal the atomic woody during erstwhile U.S. President George W. Bush’s sojourn to Delhi successful 2006. In caller years, Mr. Tellis had written a fig of pieces, immoderate of which upset New Delhi circles, arsenic helium pushed for India to bargain much defence instrumentality and an craft bearer from the U.S., suggested India wantonness its “non-alignment” policy, criticised India’s “democratic decline”, and successful his astir caller essay, questioned the viability of India’s “great powerfulness delusions”.
The apprehension explained wherefore Mr. Tellis had “spoken truthful often and harshly” against the government, the BJP’s National Information and Technology Department in-charge Amit Malviya said, reacting to the news.
As quality of the apprehension came in, deliberation tanks successful the U.S. and India that had hosted Mr. Tellis arsenic a speaker, and for probe papers, deleted pages listing him arsenic an expert. The Asia Group, which appointed him arsenic a Special Advisor connected its South Asia Team successful 2020, said it had terminated his declaration connected Tuesday (October 14, 2025). Mr. Tellis remains the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a Senior Fellow astatine the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which has truthful acold not issued a connection connected the issue.
The Ministry of External Affairs did not remark connected the case, and the U.S. Embassy successful Delhi said it does not “comment connected ongoing investigations”.
