HYDERABAD: A woman staffer at a hair and skin clinic in upscale Jubilee Hills was arrested on the charge of stealing a diamond ring, worth Rs 31 lakh, of a customer.

The ring was retrieved from the clinic's washroom drain pipe on Sunday, as the accused woman, Lalasa, panicked and flushed it down the pot as she didn't want to be caught with it.The Jubilee Hills police said a woman customer was at the clinic three days ago to get a procedure done.

She was told to remove the ring and given a box to keep the ring safe.Done with the treatment, the woman left for her residence in Banjara Hills.

It was after two hours she realized that she forgot to collect the ring and went back to the clinic.The staff and management, however, disclaimed any knowledge of the ring and displayed an empty box before the customer.After failing to elicit any response from the clinic, the customer registered a complaint with the Jubilee Hills police.Police scanned through the CCTV footage inside the clinic and spoke to the staff who were in the clinic at the time but drew a blank, as they did not find any clues.

“At the time the complainant was taking treatment, a doctor and her assistant, Lalasa, were inside the room.

We suspected the role of Lalasa and asked her about it, however she denied taking the ring.

“We asked her to come down to the police station,” Ram Prasad, Jubilee Hills detective inspector, told TOI.

The next day, Lalasa went to the hair clinic.

As soon as she arrived there, she first went directly to the washroom, which was recorded on the CCTV.

On persistent interrogation, she told investigators that she was in possession of the ring and for fear of being apprehended, she threw the costly ring into the commode, police said.

Flummoxed as they were by her claim, police sought a plumber’s help.

He opened the commode duct and found the ring in the pipeline.

Police said Lalasa initially kept the diamond ring in her purse.