Wife of Chinese Communist Party supremo arrested for murder of British businessman

Beijing, Apr11 (ANI): Gu Kailai, the wife of Bo Xilai, one of China's most powerful Communist party leaders, has been arrested for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.

The Chinese government on Tuesday said that a fresh investigation into the businessman's death is in process, and that the existing evidence strongly suggests Gu Kailai, Mr Bo's 53-year-old second wife, and Zhang Xiaojun, "an orderly at Bo's home" as being behind the incident.

Heywood, 41, was a British businessman based in Beijing and was found dead last November in a hotel room in Chongqing, the city which is ruled over by Mr Bo and his wife, the Telegraph reports.

Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, in its statement said that the accused pair has been "transferred to judicial authorities on the suspected crime of intentional homicide".

Meanwhile, Mr Bo, 62, has been suspended from his committee of communist parties and is under investigation for "serious discipline violations", which has put his political career at stake.

Neither Mr Bo nor his wife have been seen since mid-March.

The primary motive for killing Heywood was not yet found, but Xinhua said that Mrs Gu, her husband, and their son, Bo Guagua, had been on "good terms" with Heywood but reportedly, some "conflict over economic interests" had arisen.

According to reports, the crime had been brought to light by Wang Lijun, former police chief in the city, fled from Chongqing to the US Consulate, apparently in fear for his safety. He then accused Mrs Gu of poisoning Heywood, prompting the Foreign Office to urge the Chinese authorities to reopen the case.

Reports also suggest that apparently, Mrs Gu had become "increasingly neurotic" after being investigated for corruption in 2007 and had at one point demanded that Mr Heywood, as a member of her inner circle, divorce his wife and swear an oath of loyalty to which Mr Heywood had refused. (ANI)