When it comes to grand gestures, Mumbai businessman Birju Salla is an example of how to get it completely wrong.

Salla is a married father of two. During his frequent flights from Mumbai to Delhi on business, he fell for a flight attendant and they began an affair in 2017.

So far there’s nothing particularly odd about this story. People cheat all the time.

Buckle in though, because it goes from standard cheating POS to full-tilt weird.

Here’s The Guardian with what happened when he felt that he wasn’t getting enough affection from his mistress.

[Salla] has been sentenced to life in jail after making a hoax threat to hijack an airline in a ill-fated attempt to persuade his lover to quit her career as a flight attendant and spend more time with him.

Birju Salla, 38, who is married with two children, planted a letter in the toilet of a Jet Airways plane claiming there were 12 hijackers onboard the Mumbai-Delhi flight, prompting an emergency landing in Ahmedabad.

The court heard that Salla hoped the airline would close as a result of the hoax in October 2017, leaving his girlfriend jobless and free to enjoy his company more often.

There are better ways to show that you care.

Salla is now the first person to be convicted under anti-hijacking laws introduced in 2016, which allow for only two punishments for hijacking or threats to hijack: life or a death sentence.

Let’s get a look at the “love note” he left on the plane:

“Flight No 9W339 is covered by hijackers and aircraft should not be land and flown straight to POK [Muzaffarabad airport in Pakistan], 12 people onboard. If you put landing gear, you will hear the noise of people dying. Don’t take it as a joke. Cargo area contains explosives land Delhi. Allah is great.”

He printed it out, taking care to use plastic gloves – captured on his office CCTV – so as not to leave fingerprints.

Not your best work, buddy.

The man has since come to his senses and remained calm during his sentencing.

Salla’s lawyer, Rohit Verma, said the relationship with his wife and parents, who all attended court only once, was now strained. “He has been in jail since October 2017 so I suppose he is getting used to it by now,” Verma said.

He said the provisions of the law were so harsh that he planned to challenge its constitutionality in court. Salla’s reaction was calm, he said, because he had understood there were only two sentencing options under the legislation.

“He knew it was going to happen,” Verma said. “If only he hadn’t done something so stupid.”

I guess love really does make fools of us all.

Some more than others.

[source:guardian]