A chilling story of romantic deception is at the center of a new documentary on Netflix, capturing the attention of millions of viewers worldwide.
In “Sweet Bobby,” Kirat Assi, a 45-year-old marketer and radio producer living and working in London, with roots in Kenya and India, recounts the traumatic ordeal she endured for nine whole years as a victim of one of the most extreme cases of catfishing ever recorded.
Catfishing is a type of online fraud that involves creating a fictitious online persona by the perpetrator to lure the victim into a romantic relationship or commit financial fraud.
In Kirat’s case, the person posing as her dream man did so for nearly a decade until the horrifying truth was revealed, having created an elaborate network of fake online “identities.”
Using real individuals from the Punjabi-Sikh community in London as well as dozens of fake profiles supporting the “fairytale,” this person managed to win the heart of the unfortunate woman and gradually led her to personal and professional ruin and psychological collapse.
A decade of catfishing, deceit, and a fairytale romance gone wrong.
— Netflix (@netflix) September 24, 2024
Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare premieres October 16. pic.twitter.com/Zr9AtB7zSw
The most shocking of all? The person hiding behind this sadistic behavior was not some unknown man who simply wanted to toy with Kirat’s heart but her beloved little cousin, who started this “game” when she was a minor and continued for a full nine years until she was forced to admit the truth.
The Meeting and the Excuses
It all began with a friend request. Kirat Assi was thrilled when Bobby Jandu, a charming cardiologist, approached her via Facebook in 2009.
He wasn’t entirely unknown. The two belonged to the close-knit Sikh community in West London and had many mutual acquaintances.
Kirat accepted the request, and slowly, the friendly exchange of messages evolved into deep emotional discussions and a love that “blossomed” through adversity.
Despite the strong feelings that had developed between them, there always seemed to be a serious reason why Kirat and Bobby could not meet. A serious gunshot injury abroad, his involvement in a witness protection program after accidentally getting entangled in a “dirty” case, a stroke, a complicated divorce, a child… All these stories were supported by dozens of close acquaintances from his circle who had met Kirat online and had become friends with her.
Kirat fell in love, dreamed, and began to detach from real life, focusing solely on her now-fiancé Bobby, who became increasingly possessive as time went on. She lost her job, her friends, and even resigned from the radio show she hosted due to his intense jealousy.
"It was destroying my life"
— BBC London (@BBCLondonNews) October 23, 2024
Kirat Assi thought she'd hit the jackpot when Bobby, a handsome cardiologist, got in touch with her in 2009.
In truth, she was the victim of a wildly elaborate and traumatising catfishing scheme. After nine years, when the excuses ran thin, Kirat… pic.twitter.com/kSlkiZ2r4k
At some point, after nine whole years of knowing each other, the patience of the now 39-year-old woman runs out. She does everything to finally meet her fiancé, the man she is sure she wants to spend the rest of her life with. When she finally manages, after many difficulties, to show up at his door, she is confronted with the shocking truth: the real Bobby Jandu, who is married to a beautiful woman and has a child, doesn’t even know she exists.
The truth is soon revealed: the online Bobby, with whom she spent every night on Skype for the past few years exchanging sweet words, was her little cousin, seemingly her most ardent ally in their relationship. The same person was behind the dozens of profiles created merely to give substance to the fraud and assure Kirat at every step of Bobby’s “good intentions.”
A lot of the commentary regarding Kirat Assi has been “how could she be with someone she doesn’t know for 9 years” but Yall spend your whole lifetime with a stranger and sometimes still don’t know who they are. That’s just ☕️ tho pic.twitter.com/JbGOuGXXvO
— Navjot Pal Kaur (@navjotpkaur) October 22, 2024
The shocking revelation in the documentary has sparked varied reactions online, with many expressing annoyance that the documentary fails to shed light on the motivation of the girl who decided to deceive her relative in such a horrific manner. At the end of “Sweet Bobby,” it is mentioned that the perpetrator, Simran Bhogal, refused to present her own perspective in the documentary, but her lawyers made the following statement: “This issue concerns incidents that began when she was still a student. She considers this matter private and expresses her strong opposition to the many unfounded and damaging claims that have been made.”
Although the motives of Simran Bhogal remain unclear, her victim spoke in 2021 on a successful podcast about the case, shedding some light on what might have driven her underage relative to exhibit this monstrous behavior.
In the specific podcast, Kirat Assi mentioned some details from the written apology that her cousin had given her (along with a financial compensation) when she turned to legal means to seek justice.
Assi did not read the letter on the podcast due to legal restrictions but described it as the most emotionally charged letter she had ever received from her cousin.
“She wrote that if she could change everything that happened, she would do it, apologized, and expressed that she was very sorry for the pain she caused,” she stated.
The podcast host, Alexi Mostrous, revealed that Bhogal wrote in the letter that when it all started, she was going through a hard time due to personal issues and that when she met Kirat, she felt a “click” between them.
.@SkySarahJane: 'What kind of response did you get from the authorities?'
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 16, 2024
Sweet Bobby catfishing victim Kirat Assi: 'That I wasn't the victim, the real Bobby was'
Full interview: https://t.co/w1dWa8AVlb
📺 Sky 501 and YT pic.twitter.com/cq0qps4TBN
“That was the phrase she used, and it bothered me a lot. She genuinely believed that we were both going through hard times and that we would live a form of alternative reality in a fantasy world she had created that would bring joy and happiness to both of us… The fact that it took her so long to realize that this was not the case shocked me.”
Kirat also stated that Bhogal wrote in her letter that she tried to end their relationship by treating her cousin badly as “Bobby.”
“But then she told me she had a heart attack or stroke and I was forced to come back, so I don’t understand,” the victim of this incredible case commented in the podcast.
According to her, it is very difficult to consider this apology sincere since her cousin sent it only after she tried to seek justice through legal means.
