Fact Check: Has Xi Jinping been placed under house arrest

New Delhi, Sep 24: The internet is abuzz with news about Chinese President Xi Jinping being placed under house arrest. Many Chinese social media handles have said that Xi has been placed under house arrest after the Chinese Communist Party seniors removed him as head of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA).

Chinese netizens claimed that Beijing is under military seizure. Another report by News Highland Vision said that former Chinese president, Hu Jintao and former Chinese premier, Wen Jibao had persuaded Song Ping the former member of the Standing Committee and retain control of the Central Guard Bureau.

Reports also said that after Xi returned from the SCO on 16th September he was detained at the airport and most probably is currently being held under house arrest.

OneIndia was unable to verify this news and it appears to be a rumour. In fact the latest from China is that former Vice Public Security Minister Sun Lijun was given a suspended death sentence with no possibility of parole by a court in Changchun city, Jilin province.The China Central Television reported that he was found guilty of taking bribes to the tune of 646 million Yuan. He has also been accused of stock manipulation and illegal gun possession.

A Bloomberg report said that the verdict underscores Xi's willingness to take down high ranking party officials ahead of a key Congress where he is expected to secure a precedent breaking third term in power. During the October 16 gathering the party's leadership will be decided for the next five years.

We also checked on websites such as the Global Times for any news relating to Xi. However we found no such news. We also checked international websites such as CNN and BBC and found no such news. Had Xi been put under house arrest it would have been international news.

Hence for now we can confirm that the news about Xi Jinping being placed under house arrest are premature and exaggerated.