Where is Simran Bhogal now? Details explored ahead of Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare on Netflix
Simran Bhogal, successfully catfished her cousin Kirat Assi, for nearly a decade and made her believe that she was in an online relationship with a cardiologist named Bobby Jandu.
Netflix’s new true-crime documentary titled Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare is arriving on the streamer on October 16, 2024, in the hope of raising awareness among netizens, so that they do not fall for such scams, the same way radio presenter and UK resident, Kirat Assi did.
In this documentary, Kirat Assi will discuss how her cousin Simran squandered several years of her life. Viewers will learn more about Simran Bhogal, the perpetrator in the family. The synopsis for Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare reads:
"After an online friendship blossoms into true love, Kirat finds herself turning detective to uncover the truth behind her mysterious fiancé, Bobby. Inspired by the hit podcast, Sweet Bobby is the story of a fairytale romance gone horribly wrong."
Simran Bhogal is currently living with her family in North West London.
What did Simran Bhogal do?
Simran Bhogal stole the identity of Bobby Jandu and created a fake profile, through which she chatted with her cousin Kirat Assi for years. In 2010, the catfishing started over Facebook. Allegedly, Bhogal had also made several fake profiles of people who claimed to be Bobby’s relatives, family members, and acquaintances. These accounts were to assure Kirat Assi that the man she chatted with online was not a fake persona.
After chatting with Bobby for several years, Kirat gave in and chose to date him in 2015. Nevertheless, despite Kirat's repeated requests, Bobby, who would exchange messages, voice notes, and even chat with her over the phone, never took a video call.
Later in the relationship, Bobby got abusive online, and his behavior towards Kirat changed. Kirat, in hopes of meeting the man she chatted with for years, decided to hire a private detective, to find out about Bobby's whereabouts. However, she found out that the real Bobby never had any connection with Kirat, and the online accounts were all fake.
Kirat Assi eventually filed a case in 2018, requesting an investigation, however, no action was taken until 2020. In 2020, when the police got involved, Kirat Assi’s cousin Bhogal came to her home and confessed that she was pretending to be Bobby the entire time.
Previously, with regards to this, Kirat told Mail Online that,
“She (Simran Bhogal) only confessed when the police got involved. She came to my house. She stood there and said, ‘It was all me.' I didn’t know what she meant at first. She said she was Bobby. I still didn’t get it.”
Did Simran Bhogal go to jail for catfishing?
No, Simran did not go to jail for catfishing, as it is not considered a crime in the UK. Hence, there were no charges pressed against her. However, to deliver justice to Kirat Assi, the civil action case against Bhogal made her write an apology letter to Kirat, and she also agreed to pay off Kirat’s legal expenses and other compensations.
Apart from apologizing in the letter mentioned above, Simran also wrote:
“I no longer have any of the communication between myself and Ms Assi, and have not had any contact with her for a number of years..."
To know more about this story, watch Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare, arriving on Netflix on October 16, 2024.
