Manoj Baitha, the absconding former member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who is accused of killing 9 children in a hit-and-run case, surrendered to the police on Wednesday, 28 February, morning.

According to reports, Baitha has been shifted to the Patna Medical College for treatment of the injuries he suffered in the accident in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district on Saturday.

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He, however, claimed that he was not driving the vehicle which was involved in the incident.

Police had on Sunday filed an FIR against Baitha acting on a complaint by one Ansari of Dharampur village.

According to the police, Ansari lost five grandchildren in the tragedy. Baitha hails from Sitamarhi district and had gone absconding following the incident.

The incident occurred under Minapur police station area, about 10 km from the district headquarters, when the school got over and the children were returning home

“The incident took place at Ahiyapur-Jhapaha in Minapur police station area of the district where a Bolero ran over the children who were returning to their homes after the school was over,” Vivek Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Muzaffarpur, had told PTI.

The injured, around 20 in number, were rushed to the Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital for treatment.

The BJP suspended Baitha from the party. According to reports, BJP Bihar unit vice-president Devesh Kumar stated that Baitha, a district level worker of Sitamarhi, has been suspended from the primary membership of the party for a period of six years.

Besides the children who died, about 20 were injured when a speeding Bolero lost control and ploughed through them outside a government school building on the outskirts of the city.

Reports say that Baitha will be produced in a court later in the day.