The trio - Shaik Dasthagiri, K Ajay and Md Khaleel - came to Chanrayangutta in search of prospective buyers for the telescope, which is over 100 years old, when a police team apprehended them, an official release said.
According to the police, one Manish, a resident of West Bengal, had kept the telescope with Dasthagiri. The telescope is made by W Ottway Co Ltd, Ealing, London.
Efforts were on trace Manish and find out how he procured the optical instrument, which was seized by police, the release added.