The Customs Department on February 29 handed over a 206-year-old tracker telescope of the British East India Company to the Archaeological Survey of India.
The rare telescope was seized in 2018 near Rangia in Assam's Kamrup district by the Customs sleuths when it was being smuggled from West Bengal to Bhutan, Central Excise and Customs Chief Commissioner (Guwahati Zone) Bandhana Deori told reporters here.
"After its seizure by the Guwahati Customs Division, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was requested to verify its genuineness," she added.