(Representative image)

NEW DELHI: As her train pulled into New Delhi station on Thursday evening, Samira (name changed) was excited about surprising her family. Her husband Saddam Hussein was fidgeting at the prospect of selling or killing her within the next few hours. And a short distance away, Kamla Market SHO Sunil Kumar was preparing a welcome for Saddam.

After a week's planning and an overnight journey from Araria in Bihar, Saddam (32) was finally going to be rid of his second wife, but not in the way he had imagined.

He had married Samira (28) for her beauty, but it had become the bane of his life. Men stared at her wherever they went. He felt jealous and got into fights. She had her complaints, too. Although they lived in a separate two-room house, Saddam visited his first wife and three children at least twice a week.

On August 1, Saddam again quarrelled with a man while shopping with Samira. He decided he couldn't take it any more and bought a knife to kill her. The night passed and he had another idea.

Why kill her when he could sell her to a brothel in Delhi, he thought.

Saddam told Samira they would surprise her family in Delhi with a visit, and started making enquiries about brothels and pimps. Luckily for Samira, the pimp he got in touch with was a police informer. Saddam didn’t know that the next man he dealt with over two days was SHO Kumar himself.

Saddam wanted Rs 1.5 lakh for his wife, but settled for Rs 1.2 lakh. He promised to hand her over to the ‘pimp’ at 8pm on Thursday. However, he was prepared to kill her if the pimp didn’t turn up.

The police team was ready for Saddam but they had to delay his arrest as the jealous husband turned out to be a suspicious dealer as well. He came to the meeting place without Samira and demanded an advance. Only when the cops gave him Rs 10,000 did he go back and fetch her.

He was arrested on the spot, and Samira, who had been clueless about his plan, stood shocked. Police said counsellors are looking after her.

