The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government suspended the functioning of the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission (HPSSC) on Monday over recruitment exam paper leak, saying it appears that the commission has not discharged its duties and responsibilities objectively and its credibility has been eroded.

According to a notification issued by the state government, the decision has been taken in view of various irregularities found in the working of the commission, especially the recruitment process for the posts of Junior Office Assistant (Information Technology).

The suspension came three days after an HPSSC employee was arrested along with five others in connection with the JOA (IT) paper leak case.

Meanwhile, the additional director general of the state vigilance and anti corruption bureau on Monday constituted a special investigation team (SIT) headed by DIG G Sivakumar to conduct an enquiry into more revelations regarding alleged malpractices in past exams conducted by the HPSSC, headquartered in Hamirpur.

A separate tech team was also constituted to aid the ongoing investigation in Hamirpur, an official of the vigilance department said.

"There has been a reported instance of leak of question paper for the post of Junior Office Assistant (Information Technology) (JOA-IT), for which examination was scheduled to be held on December 25 besides information regarding leak of question papers of posts of Junior Auditors and Computer Operators, for which examination is proposed to be held in near future," the order said.

The acts of omission and commission in the HPSSC based in Hamirpur have not only eroded its credibility but also adversely impacted the larger public interest. Prima facie, it appears that the commission has not discharged its duties and responsibilities objectively, in a transparent manner as well as with due confidentiality to the detriment of job aspirants, the order added.

It is also apprehended that this malpractice has been going on for quite some time in connivance with the personnel of the commission and all the ongoing and pending recruitment processes are kept in abeyance, till further orders, in the public interest, it said.

The employees and other staff of the commission will report to the additional deputy commissioner of Hamirpur who has been appointed as the officer on special duty to the Staff Selection Commission with immediate effect till further orders, it added.

All the six persons arrested in the JOA (IT) paper leak case -- senior superintendent of the secrecy branch of HPSSC Uma Azad, her son Nikhil Azad, tout Sanjay Sharma, Neeraj, Ajay Sharma and Tanu Sharma -- were sent to police remand by a local court on Sunday.

The vigilance department had received a complaint that a tout, named Sanjay, had contacted the complainant with an offer to provide him with question papers, following which a trap was laid, officials said.

The tout again contacted the complainant to meet him at NIT Hamirpur from where he took him to the house of Uma Azad, the officials said, adding the tout and the official were apprehended there and a total of Rs 2.50 lakh in cash and solved question papers were recovered.