Tarapith, Aug. 19 -- The Fire Department has suspended Station Officer Abhay Chowdhury, who had issued the report based on which the hotel's Fire Safety Certificate was granted in Tarapith, sources said. The fire incident at the hotel left at least eight people dead.

Several others were injured, allegedly due to a short circuit, at a hotel in Tarapith in West Bengal's Birbhum district on Monday.

Superintendent of Police Birbhum, Vidit Raj Bhundesh, said on Monday that neither smoke nor flames were visible from the outside. "Neither smoke nor flames were visible from the outside. Police and fire brigade teams arrived at the scene; 22 people were rescued using ladders, and 11 others were sent to the hospital," he told reporters.

Police h...