Netflix’s new documentarySweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmarechronicles the harrowing eight-year ordeal of Kirat Assi, a thirty-something marketing executive from London, England who fell prey to the online deceit now known as “catfishing.“Catfishing involves an individual inventing, or borrowing, an online persona to dupe their victim- usually romantically. Assi’s story is particularly shocking since it is revealed at the end ofSweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmarethat her tormentor was her cousin and confidante, Simran Bhogal.
Bhogal’s astonishingly intricate web of lies and deception lasted nearly a decade. By stealing the identity of one Bobby Jandu, originally on Facebook, Bhogal inched her way into Assi’s affections, who she knew to be desperate for marriage and children. Placing Bobby in Nairobi, Kenya, and then moving him to New York while concoctinga series of bizarre events including a shooting, enrollment in a witness protection program, and a heart attack, Bhogal was able to keep her protagonists apart. Meanwhile, she maintained a constant and pervasive online presence, which evolved into an intense love affair and even a marriage proposal.
The Outcome Of Simran Bhogal & Kirat Assi’s Catfishing Case Explained
Assi Was Not The Only Victim of Bhogal’s Deception
Assi was not the only victim of Simran Bhogal’s catfishing. InSweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare,her parents and immediate family were also taken in by the affair. Naturally keen to see their daughter married, they had no reason to believe that Facebook Bobby was anything other than real. The actualBobby Jandu, who Assi tracks down and confronts at the end of the documentary, is a victim too, together with his wife and child. But for Assi, now in her 40s, the near-decade-long lie has left her unmarried and childless.
Once Kirat Assi finally uncovered Bhogal’s scheme, she took her case to the police in 2018, who informed her that Bobby was the real victim and refused to prosecute, since catfishing is not a criminal offense. Undeterred, Assi brought a civil action against Bhogal in 2020, which was settled out of court. As perThe Mirror,an apology letter from Bhogal to the court attempted to explain her actions as “a family dispute"that occurred when she “was a schoolgirl, over a decade ago.“She claimed that she had lost money and that her health had suffered as a result of the case.
Where Simran Bhogal Is Today After The Kirat Assi Case
Bhogal Has Kept Out of The Public Eye
The cousins have not spoken since the day Bhogul confessed in person to Assi.The case was first brought to public attention by podcaster Alexi Mostrous, before it was picked up by Netflix, who has shared withCosmopolitanthat Bhogal once worked as a “high-powered” executive at Barclays Bank, but had left of her own accord as a result of the case. She’d paid a significant sum of money to Assi, including Assi’s court costs.
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Bhogal is reported to have moved back to her parent’s house in North London, but otherwise has remained silent and out of the public eye until Netflix’sSweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmarewas in the works, after whichRadio Timesreports that she was stung into making a short statement: “I strongly object to the numerous unfounded and seriously defamatory accusations that have been made about me, as well as details of private matters that have been shared with the media.”
SOURCES:The Mirror,Cosmopolitan,Radio Times
Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare
Kirat’s life is upended for years by a virtual relationship in this shocking documentary, after falling for a man she meets online.
