Chennai, April 25: The CBI’s anti-corruption wing has arrested the Chennai regional passport officer, who is the daughter-in-law of finance minister K. Anbazhagan, straining the DMK’s ties with the Congress.

Sumathi Ravichandran was arrested along with travel agent Fathima on a passport applicant’s complaint that the agent had demanded Rs 9,000 as bribe to speed up the process. Sumathi had colluded in the matter, the CBI claimed.

“The bribe amount of Rs 9,000 was recovered from the office of M/s. Ahmed World Travels. The said passport application of P. Lakshmanan submitted by Fathima was endorsed by the deputy passport officer, Chennai, based on the specific instructions from Smt. Sumathi Ravichandran,” a CBI press release said.

Sumathi’s father-in-law is the number two in the DMK and the state government. He has complained to chief minister M. Karunanidhi that the CBI could not have arrested Sumathi without clearance from the Union personnel ministry, held by the Congress.

Sumathi, an Indian Postal Service officer, was appointed RPO in 2004 with the blessings of then Union communications minister Dayanidhi Maran of the DMK.