Patna: Manoj Baitha, accused of mowing down nine children in Muzaffarpur district on Saturday, was drunk, the Opposition alleged on Monday even as the BJP, which had claimed Baitha was not a party member, suspended him.

RJD MLAs led by Tejashwi Yadav submitted a memorandum to Governor Satya Pal Malik demanding Baitha's arrest. Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi: "In addiction-free Bihar, an intoxicated BJP leader killed nine innocent children. Nitish ji, is this the reality of your prohibition?"

Tejashwi said: "A CBI inquiry was conducted when a private school student (Pradyuman Thakur of Gurgaon's Ryan International School) was killed. So why is no action being taken when nine children were killed? Is this because they are poor and were studying in a government school? Sushil Modi has asked Baitha not to surrender because if he does so now, liquor can be detected in his blood."

Contacted, BJP spokesperson Sanjay Singh Tiger said: "It is a matter of investigation whether he (Baitha) was drunk or not. Senior leaders of our party have already said that strict action would be taken against him."

In the evening, public health and engineering minister Vinod Narayan Jha said Baitha has been suspended from the BJP because of the seriousness of the incident and because he is absconding.