Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s documentary ‘Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare’ sheds light on Kirat Assi’s companionship with a person who was introduced as a London-based doctor named Bobby Jandu. What started as a reliable friendship eventually became a romantic relationship that made her dream of marriage and raising a family with the individual. However, her dreams were shattered when she started to delve into the authenticity of her boyfriend, which led her to the truth that her partner wasn’t the person the latter claimed to be. The alleged discovery that her Bobby was really a persona created by one of her family members ended what is believed to be the longest catfishing case on record!
Kirat Assi Was Reportedly Deceived For Nine Years
Kirat Assi’s interactions with the account of Bobby Jandu lasted around nine years. He was introduced to her as the brother of JJ, the boyfriend of her cousin, Simran Bhogal, in 2009. As two individuals who were navigating their lives through their respective breakups, they became friends. When Bobby got engaged to Sanj, she was among the ones who congratulated the two. What followed was nothing but unbelievable. She came to know that the London-based cardiologist was shot multiple times in Kenya and was shifted to New York for witness protection. Kirat was informed that he also dealt with severe health concerns, ranging from a brain tumor to a stroke. Amid these difficulties, Bobby confessed his love for her.
According to Kirat, she fell in love with Bobby “after much pressure and emotional guilt-tripping.” The people who were introduced to her as Bobby’s friends and family members deceived her enough for her to believe that the man was genuine. However, as their relationship grew stronger, the radio jockey’s desire to meet him also increased. When he hesitated to appear before her, she decided to track him down, paving the way for her meeting with the real Bobby Jandu, who revealed that he had never talked to her in his life. The meeting helped expose the person she had been sharing her life with for years.
As per Kirat, Simran eventually confessed to her that she was Bobby and the person behind around sixty social media profiles created to make the catfish account appear legitimate. After this confrontation, they reported the 9-year-long catfishing to the police. Simran allegedly gave a similar confession to the authorities, only for the officers to respond that the real Bobby, rather than Kirat, was actually the “victim.”
Kirat Assi Faced Several Challenges After Learning the Truth About Bobby
The aftermath of the catfishing was extremely difficult for Kirat Assi. After surrounding herself with Bobby and the other fake accounts created to make the persona appear genuine for several years, the radio jockey dealt with immense loneliness. “Imagine somebody really close to you had suddenly died, and it’s not one person, it’s all of them. I had lost everybody. Normally, even if you lose a boyfriend, your girlfriends come and look after you,” Kirat told The Guardian in January 2022. After learning that Simran Bhogal was allegedly behind Bobby, she started believing that the catfishing scheme was the “slow destruction” of her entire life.
Kirat revealed that Bobby affected all the major facets of her life, including her career, dreams, hopes, friendships, and her relationship with her family. “I could have met someone real, had a baby during that time. But the other impact has been on my mental and physical health,” she added. When the police couldn’t move ahead with the case, Kirat decided to move against Simran judicially. She filed a civil case against her cousin, accusing the latter of harassment, misuse of private information, and data protection breaches. The radio jockey not only won a significant settlement but also received a private apology from Simran, per reports. However, the legal victory wasn’t enough to bring her cousin to justice.
Since catfishing is not a criminal offense in the UK, no one was charged in the case. The predicament inspired Kirat to voice against the practice, especially with the realization that there are several others who are catfish survivors like her or are being targeted by catfishers. She now operates a website in her name to share not only her real-life story but also guidance and resources concerning catfishing, identity theft, stalking, coercive control, and more. She decided to collaborate with Netflix to make ‘Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare’ with the hope that the documentary will help people who find themselves in a similar position to “speak up” and “speak out.”
Kirat Assi is Gradually Rebuilding Her Life Today
Kirat Assi is “quietly determined” to rebuild her life and regain what she had lost in the years she was being catfished. She continues to work at Desi Radio UK as a jockey. The catfish survivor is still hosting ‘Bhangra Roadshow’ for the radio network, bringing the best of Bhangra and Punjabi pop to the air for her callers. She has also presented the show ‘Anmol Geetan Di Bahar,’ playing Punjabi “golden oldies” and nostalgic classics for her listeners. The 2022 Guardian interview reveals that she has been working as a freelance marketer with the hope of getting her own place after moving out of her parents’ house.
Ever since Kirat shared her story with the world through Tortoise Media’s 2021 podcast ‘Sweet Bobby,’ she has been dealing with online abuses and trolls. Some individuals within her community had blamed her, asking why she “let [the catfishing] happen.” Irrespective of these challenges, she has made significant progress in her life. Kirat is currently dating again, and in an October 2024 interview given to Sky News, she revealed that she regained her “old fiery self.” Her inspiring actions have shocked people who expected her to be a “whimpering wreck.” Having said that, she knows her life isn’t the same.
“I have to be very careful about what I do and how I do it, who’s Googling me when it comes to work things,” Kirat told Sky News. This shows why she has chosen to keep a major part of her life private today. Still, this decision hasn’t stopped her from supporting people who had to deal with various crimes. As an ardent fan, she also enjoys watching Novak Djokovic play tennis and sharing his achievements on the court.
Kirat Assi Remains Determined About Bringing Simran Bhogal to Justice
Even though Kirat Assi’s initial conversations with the police didn’t yield the results she expected, she is determined to bring Simran Bhogal to justice. The Metropolitan Police in London reopened the case after closing it in 2019, which motivated her to keep fighting against her catfisher. She wants the person responsible “held accountable” so that she doesn’t have to “bear the brunt” of revealing what happened in her life to the world. The radio jockey believes that she can move forward in her life only when Simran faces legal consequences. It doesn’t mean Kirat encourages any sort of “witch hunt” against her alleged catfisher.
Kirat is concerned that people may try to hunt Simran down and expose her identity to the world. “Anyone who wants to do that, I’d be like, ‘You’re as bad as her if you’re doing that.’ What we need to do is put pressure on the authorities to do the right thing,” she told The Independent in October 2024. Since they are both part of the same extended family, she is concerned that any “witch hunt” will affect her loved ones.
Even though Kirat is committed to fighting a legal battle against Simran, she doesn’t wish to interact with her again. “I don’t want to see or speak to her [Simran] again for the sake of my health,” Kirat told The Guardian in January 2022. After losing control over her own life to a catfisher, the radio jockey is reclaiming her life. She is hopeful about her future and determined to spark a change in a world where legal authorities do not properly deal with the atrocities she had to suffer.
Read More: Sanj Jandu: Where is She Now? Is She Still Together With Bobby Jandu?
