Netflix has just released Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare, which tells the almost unbelievable story of Kirat Assi and Simran Bhogal. The show is based on 2021 podcast Sweet Bobby, which was released by Tortoise Media, a site co-founded by former editor of The Times, James Harding.
The podcast was a true crime hit, aimed at finding out how much people really know about the people they’re in relationships with. Its description read: “How much do you know about the person you love? Sweet Bobby is the #1 chart-topping, award-winning investigative series in search of the world’s most sophisticated catfisher.”
It told the story of 43-year-old radio presenter and marketer Kirat Assi, who spent almost 10 years believing she was in a relationship with a doctor named Bobby Jandu – who she had met on Facebook. But, she wasn’t. The couple never met, and the most contact they had was over video call. Still, Kirat believed she and Bobby were in love. However, Bobby actually turned out to be her cousin, Simran Bhogal, who was catfishing her the entire time.
via Netflix
What did Simran Bhogal do?
Simran Bhogal set up a Facebook account under the name Bobby Jandu to catfish her cousin. She chatted on there with Kirat from 2009, and in 2015 Kirat and who she believed was “Bobby” made their relationship official – without having met. Allegedly, Simran had set up fake Facebook profiles of Bobby’s friends, family and colleagues – all to make the lie look believable.
In episode three of the podcast, it was revealed that Kirat had been catfished by her own cousin, Simran Bhogal. This came after Kirat hired a private investigator to find the address of Bobby, after suspecting things weren’t right in their relationship.
The catfishing ordeal had gone on from 2009 to 2018, and at the time, Kirat said Simran “only confessed when the police got involved.” The podcast also claimed Simran had a history of lying on social media.
At the time, Simran was said to be working a “high-powered job” which was later revealed to be at Barclays Bank. In 2018, Talent Ticker, a recruitment management platform, stated: “Barclays promotes Simran Bhogal to Vice President, COO & Finance Business Partner.”
Following Sweet Bobby, where is Simran Bhogal now?
via Netflix
In 2021, it was reported Simran Bhogal lives in North West London with her parents. Despite Kirat getting in touch with police, no charges were ever made against her, as catfishing is not a criminal offence in the UK.
However, Kirat did take civil action, which in 2020 was settled out of court. Their agreement involved an apology letter from Simran, which was issued via lawyers. In the letter, Simran confirmed she no longer had contact with Kirat, and hadn’t for many years.
The settlement also ordered Simran to pay Kirat “substantial damages and her legal costs”, after it was claimed Kirat lost thousands of pounds in earnings due to being forced to sign off sick whilst in a relationship with “Bobby”.
The Sweet Bobby podcast confirmed that following the scandal, Simran Bhogal left her “high-powered job” as a result of what she did. It was later confirmed Simran had walked out of her job of her own accord, as opposed to being fired.
Netflix approached Simran to be interviewed for the documentary film, but she declined. The documentary states: “She said this matter involves events that began when she was a schoolgirl. She considers it a private matter and strongly objects to what she describes as ‘numerous unfounded’ and damaging accusations.”
Sweet Bobby is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.
Related stories recommended by this writer:
• Art classes and getting married: What prison life is like for Lyle and Erik Menendez
• People are dragging Pamela Bozanich for ‘disgusting’ comments in Menendez Netflix doc
• The Menendez brothers’ case is officially under review: Here’s what that actually means
