Nine months after returning to the police force, following a suspension of 16 years, the fate of Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze’s job hangs in the balance. High-ranking city police officers hinted that he will either be sidelined or suspended again as his name has cropped up in ongoing investigation into the murder of Mansukh Hiran, owner of the explosives-laden car found outside Antilia last month.

Vaze, known as the encounter specialist, remained suspended for 16 years for his alleged role in the custodial death of Khwaja Yunus in 2003. He had submitted his resignation in 2008, but it wasn’t accepted. He even joined the Shiv Sena briefly in 2007.