Varanasi: In a minor dispute over fare, a man slit the throat of an auto driver, killing him on the spot on Monday night. Vishnu Yadav (25), the accused, was arrested a few hours after the incident, following a police encounter in which he sustained a bullet injury to the leg.Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) T Sarvanan said auto driver Mahesh Yadav (30) was involved in a dispute over fare near Madhuban Lawn on Sundarpur-Newada road in the city. Vishnu allegedly attacked Mahesh with a paper blade during the altercation, and he was declared dead at BHU Trauma Centre. The DCP said Vishnu initially took shelter in a sweet shop before reaching his house, about 200 metres away from the crime scene.

A Chitaipur police team raided Vishnu’s house, but he pulled out a knife and threatened them. When cops tried to subdue him with a blanket, he resisted, snatched a policeman’s service pistol, and tried to flee. Sarvanan said that despite repeated warnings, Vishnu did not stop and fired at the police, after which Chitaipur police retaliated. Vishnu suffered a bullet injury in the leg and was caught. After recovering the pistol, police rushed him to the Trauma Centre.