Where Is Simran Bhogal Now? The Bizarre True Story Behind Netflix’s ‘Sweet Bobby’

Kirat Assi spent nearly a decade as the victim of an elaborate catfishing scheme, now the focus of Netflix’s new documentary, Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare. The film follows Tortoise Media’s 2021 multi-part podcast series, which exposed the inner workings of “one of the world’s most sophisticated catfishers.”

The former radio presenter was duped for nearly a decade by someone within her inner circle who posed as a man named Bobby Jandu. The real Bobby Jandu, also part of their Sikh community in London, was unaware that his identity was being being stolen to scam her.

Assi and the fake Bobby’s connection began in 2010 as a Facebook friendship that evolved into a serious romantic relationship. However, whenever she attempted to meet Bobby in person, he always had an excuse. The identity of the scammer was eventually revealed to be Assi’s cousin, Simran Bhogal.

From The Tinder Swindler producer Raw TV, Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare allows viewers to experience what Assi went through “with photos, screenshots, and exclusive interviews with Assi herself as well as those who watched the doomed relationship unfold in real time,” according to Netflix’s Tudum.

Read on to find out what happened to Assi and what Bhogal is doing now after admitting to the manipulative scheme.

What Happened To Kirat Assi?

In 2009, Assi, then a 29-year-old radio presenter, was contacted on Facebook by Bhogal’s ex-boyfriend, JJ, who sought advice on how to win her back. While they were exchanging messages, Assi was informed that JJ had died from an allergic reaction. Bhogal provided Assi with the contact details of JJ’s older brother, Bobby, so that she could offer her condolences, per The Guardian.

Assi received a Facebook friend request from Bobby, a handsome cardiologist based in Kenya. Bobby is a fellow Sikh and shares mutual friends within their community. After messaging for years, Assi ultimately fell in love with Bobby and considered herself in a relationship despite many red flags along the way.

At one point, Bobby claimed he was in a witness protection program in New York City after getting shot in Kenya because of a business deal gone wrong. He also allegedly developed numerous life-threatening illnesses, meaning he was in the hospital or New York and couldn’t meet her in person.

“There was always an excuse why he couldn’t come to London,” Assi told the British site. “When we tried to have a video call, he told me his phone was broken and came up with extraordinary excuses for why he couldn’t get a new one. I said, ‘I’m not turning my video on either’. That was me being angry. He would then say, ‘Just turn it on for a minute, just so I can see you,’ because he wanted to make sure I was sitting in my room.”

Bobby started to control and manipulate Assi. He monitored her movements and started telling her what to do. “Bobby would be like, ‘Where are you? Why aren’t you at home? Why aren’t you in your room?’ I didn’t understand why I was sitting at home if he wasn’t here. It was not like me at all.”

She continued, “He used to test my reactions to things all the time, it was part of him torturing me. One day he asked, ‘If I joined Isis, would you come with me?’ What was I supposed to say? If I said ‘no’, he is going to pick a fight with me, but he might have a heart attack (remember his life-threatening medical condition). But saying ‘yes’ didn’t feel right either.”

How Did Kirat Assi Discover The Identity Of Her Catfisher?

Three years into their relationship, Assi became suspicious about why Bobby refused to see her. She discovered that his last known address was actually in Brighton, so she decided to confront him. The real Bobby, who agreed to be interviewed for the Netflix doc, said he had never met or spoken to Kirat. He also had no idea his identity was used in the catfishing scam.

Assi turned to Bhogal to tell her what happened, and she decided to report the catfish to the police. “I told them, ‘I’m scared, I want something on record just in case something happens.’ [Bhogal] sat next to me and verified everything to the police,” Assi recalled to The Guardian. The next day, Bhogal confessed to being the fake Bobby. “She said, it was me, I was Bobby, I was all of them.”

Simran’s catfishing scheme was so elaborate that it included more than 60 fictional characters that she created and intertwined. She made fake profiles for Bobby’s friends, coworkers, and family members, with whom Kirat started forming close relationships, making the revelation that more difficult.

“Imagine somebody really close to you had suddenly died, and it’s not one person, it’s all of them. I had lost everybody,” Kirat said to The Guardian. “Normally, even if you lose a boyfriend, your girlfriends come and look after you.”

Did Simran Bhogal Get In Trouble For Catfishing?

When Assi initially reported Bhogal to the police, they told her that she wasn’t the victim, but the real Bobby was. Bhogal didn’t face any criminal charges because there is no law against catfishing.

A small victory for Assi came in 2020, when she took Bhogal to civil court for harassment, misuse of private information and data protection breaches. Bhogal had to pay Assi “substantial damages” and legal costs and write her a private apology letter.

According to Today.com, the police eventually decided to reopen Assi’s case. “It’s kind of happening, but it’s very, very slow,” Assi said. “I was hoping it would be done before the documentary, but, yeah, it’s not happened.”

Assi’s lawyer, Yair Cohen, told Today that he is also representing the “real Bobby” in a “separate proceeding” against Bhogal.

Where Is Simran Bhogal Now?

It’s unknown what Simran Bhogal is doing now. When the Sweet Bobby podcast was released, Simran was reportedly engaged, traveled often, and worked at a firm in London. People reported that Simran was promoted to vice president at an established British bank at one point in the investigative series.

However, in the podcast’s final episode, which aired in November 2021, it was revealed that Simran had allegedly left her job. She also deleted all her social media profiles and no longer has any online presence.

In response to the podcast, Simran and her lawyers said in a statement to Tortoise Media, “This matter concerns a family dispute over events that began over a decade ago when I was a school girl. As far as I am concerned, this is a private family matter that has been resolved, and 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.”

Assi no longer cares about why her cousin catfished her. Now, she wants Simran to take accountability for what she did. “I just want her to take responsibility for her actions, and put her hands up and just say, ‘Look, I did this.’ Tell us how she did it, and allow herself to be held to account,” she told Today.

Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare is now streaming on Netflix.