The entire story has since been laid bare by Assi in a Tortoise Media podcast series, titled "Sweet Bobby". Police have told Assi that what happened to her is not a crime, which she refuses to accept. It was a slow destruction of everything I had. Catfishing is the phenomenon of luring someone into a relationship by creating a fictional online persona. While Assi wants Bhogal to be held accountable for her actions and take responsibility for what she did, Assi also wants her cousin to get help with her mental health if she needs it, too. After Simrans confession in 2018, Kirat spent months trying to persuade them to investigate, only to be told this year that what happened to her is not a crime. SimranBhogal - Reddit Why did she do this?. Though not instructed in this case, she has given it a lot of thought. Sweet Bobby: What happened to the catfisher after the - Metro Episode 3: Confession - Tortoise The Hesse Heist: The Accused Are Tried. She had been catfished for years, and now her hit podcast tells the story of tracing the scammer and her quest for justice. Alexi Mostrous is Head of Investigations at Tortoise Media. However, as time went on, Bobby pulled through and was on the mend. UK woman, 42, finds out her boyfriend is her female cousin after 12 Share. Police need to be educated, she says. They would often chat, play online Scrabble, and read books to one another. And so began a three-and-a-half-year relationship, where the couple would often communicate day and night, either via messages or over the phone, but never once in person, and not even when the contents of conversation were of a sexual nature. The voice of Kirat Assi, subject of the podcast Sweet Bobby, is so familiar I momentarily forget we had never spoken, let alone met. (modern). Im private online, she continued. Sweet Bobby, a six-part podcast from Tortoise Media, is available on Apple and Spotify. Bobby reached out to Assi in the hopes of rekindling their friendship. The Sweet Bobby podcast is available to listen to on all streaming platforms. Lots of people have asked me and Kirat why she put up with all of this. You can listen to Assi's full story here. I wonder whether the Crown Prosecution Service will give it a go. Having won a settlement in her civil case against Simran for harassment, misuse of private information and data protection breaches, Kirat is continuing to challenge the police decision to not pursue her case. The hawker and his wife, a stall assistant, were spotted not wearing their masks properly more than once. When Kirat, 42, found out, she collapsed. We Are Hiring CO2 Bioclean | LinkedIn Normally, even if you lose a boyfriend, your girlfriends come and look after you., And then there is the fact that many from within Assis own community have chosen to not believe the story, or to ask how she could have let it happen. Sweet Bobby Epsiode 4- A larger commentary on South Asian - Reddit That was me being angry. Simran, it seems, somehow managed to get access to photos of Bobbys real son. Just as one normally would when one bumps into a friend, Assi approached Bobby to greet him. He told me: is a barrister specialising in family law. Of course, the online sleuths have tried their hardest to track down any sign of Simrans social media existence but have pretty much come up with nothing. However, a criminal case has yet to be brought against Bhogal, as catfishing is not a criminal offence in the UK. Dr Charlotte Proudman, a barrister specialising in gender-based violence, told me that Bobby was so controlling that he or more accurately, Simran might have breached the criminal law. A good source handed me a witness statement over lunch, telling me it contained details of the craziest case hed ever seen. I said, Im not turning my video on either. She says she wants to go back to her happy-go-lucky self and has hopes to one day move out, find somebody and have a family of her own. Bobby was a real person but his online identity had been stolen by the scammer, who turned out to be Kirat's younger cousin, a woman called Simran Bhogal (pictured far right) Credit: Twitter Acting without pity, someone Kirat trusted drew her into a web of lies, leaving her jobless, friendless and on the brink of madness. "In that time I could have met someone real, had a baby. Presumably by Googling, she then worked out where the clothes he was wearing came from. There is no way of verifying whether the accounts did actually belong to Simran Bhogal. Simran Bhogal | LinkedIn For me, the polices reaction is probably the most frustrating aspect of this whole story. Pferdstr. , a solicitor specialising in social media law, acted for Assi and won damages from Bhogal when she settled a civil claim. This was a picture of the real Bobby, who never knew his identity was being exploited. Or, indeed, how she did it. On the rare occasions when she did speak with fake Bobby, he would sound like he had a squeaky voice. Catfishing might be illegal in the UK depending on whether the activities of the catfish call under one of a number of criminal offences. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The PAP town councils will also produce mulch from excess plant materials and use it on nearby greenery. The catfish, supposedly a man named "Bobby", turned out to be her female second cousin, who is 13 years younger. To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders, Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications, .css-o3g03s{color:black;}Published14:33,03 December 2021 GMT.css-1aaqh7x{color:#666666;}@media (min-width:1024px){.css-1aaqh7x{color:#666666;}}| Last updated11:07,16 December 2021 GMT. The podcast sensation Sweet Bobby may have come to an end last November, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. In 2020, however, Assi filed a civil case against Bhogal, which was settled outside of court. For Assi it is simple, there are laws and if shes broken the law then [Bhogal] needs to face the consequence of what shes done.. As a member of Britain's Sikh community, Assi claimed that she had a "very strong network of friends, cousins, uncles and aunties", some of whom were referenced by Bobby in their conversations in order to build trust between the two. 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). Bhogal uttered the same line as Assi listed several other names and the truth started to sink in. Alexi Mostrous hosts episode 3. At the centre was Bobby, a handsome cardiologist with whom Assi formed a close friendship that turned into romance despite never meeting in real life. Assi and Bobby continued corresponding over the next five months after initial contact, and throughout Bobby's supposed marriage troubles until the ultimate dissolution of his marriage. Sweet Bobby: What happened to the catfisher after the - Metro The term catfish comes from a documentary released in 2010, though the etymology offered in the film is regarded as a myth. JJ was the college ex-boyfriend of Simran Bhogal, Assi's younger female cousin. Woman Was Catfished For Almost A Decade By Her Female Cousin - LADbible Like Serial, the US podcast that defined the genre in 2014, Sweet Bobby was reported in real time. So, where is Assi now? Yair Cohen, a solicitor specialising in social media law, acted for Assi and won damages from Bhogal when she settled a civil claim. Gruene Gans. At that time, Assi did not even know what she was supposed to be investigating other than to find Bobby. Image from @JustKirat/Twitter. Assi then became a part of a Facebook group consisting of 39 other members, all of whom were grieving Bobby's death. She works for either barclays or a law firm (according to other threads), she's about 30 (can't remember exactly) she is of Indian decent and lives in London England. The experience has convinced me that catfishers can and do cause real and significant psychological harm. On hindsight, whatever information about fake Bobby were shared by a host of people who were also all fictitious and made up by Bhogal. . How, I asked her, could it be established that Assi was in an intimate personal relationship with Bhogal? Such a law would serve as a deterrent, she says. I just kept screaming at her, Why, why did you do this? On one occasion, Bobby asked Kirat to help him choose some clothes for his baby son. "And she was like, 'I'd better not come in', and erm, I was asking her things and basically she just said 'it was all me. A couple of weeks later, Kirat saw pictures of Bobbys real son wearing the clothes the pair had chosen together. 281 followers 63 following Simran Bhogal Live/ Love / Laugh Dream / hope / believe / try ? Bobby fake or not was incredibly manipulative. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. After confessing, Simran seemingly moves on with her life, continuing her job as a high-powered executive and even getting engaged. Having won a settlement in her civil case against Simran for harassment, misuse of private information and data protection breaches, Kirat is continuing to challenge the police decision to not pursue her case. Episode 4: Dark triads - Tortoise "I literally called out loads of names of lots of people and she said 'it was me, it was me'. Sign up for Bustle UK's twice-weekly newsletter, featuring the latest must-watch TV, moving personal stories, and expert advice on the hottest viral buys. Let's try to know the story from the beginning so that you can know who Simran Bhogal was. Sophie Jugheli "I have worked with Simran for over a year now and can confidently say that she is a dependable professional who follows through. Assi and her brother in 2018. Fake Bobby remained in Manhattan, New York in the United States, and Assi continued corresponding digitally with him despite being separated by the Atlantic. As the relationship began to break down, she started messaging family and friends instructing them to 'block Bobby on their phones' and when one of her younger cousins came over to console her, the truth finally came out. Simran Bhogal was Kirat's Cousin. Simran Bhogal's full name is actually Simran Kaur Bhogal, according to legal case documents. "I just kept shouting at her, 'Why, why are you doing this? He was jealous and angry. Sign up for Bustle UK's twice-weekly newsletter, featuring the latest must-watch TV, moving personal stories, and expert advice on the hottest viral buys. And this was where the story took a major dramatic turn. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Those decisions and their consequences which may be highly significant can then be reported in subsequent episodes. MORE : Sweet Bobby podcast: What did Simran Bhogal say in her apology to Kirat Assi? Though not instructed in this case, she has given it a lot of thought. While Assi had never met Bobby before, she had an inkling who he was as he is a real person, whose identity was used and embellished to make Assi fall for the fake version of him eventually. The six-episode series follows the twisted saga of Kirat Assi and the person she thought was Bobby. Bobby had just exited a coma, he said, after being shot in Kenya. Kirat Assi: 'Bobby tried to destroy my hopes, my dreams, every part of She wants the law to be changed. I feel violated. Finally, its important to understand that in the later years of the deception when Bobby and Kirat became partners Bobby became incredibly controlling. Bhogal confessed that she had also pretended to be other people all this time. - telling him things about my hopes, dreams, my childhood, that I'd never tell anyone. Outside of Bobby's front door, a distraught Assi called Bhogal to turn to her for solace, much like all the previous times that Assi had done during her entire relationship with Bobby. As time progressed, Bobby's interactions with Assi became increasingly controlling, and he became more possessive of Assi. Additionally, Assi was reassured by the fact that nothing physical could ever happen between the both of them due to the physical distance separating them. I discovered the world's ugliest catfish that a sinister web of lies She said, it was me, I was Bobby, I was all of them., But when Assi reported Bhogal to police they told her: Youre not the victim, [the real Bobby] is.. The British police have - so far - refused to investigate. Kirat Assi Spent 10 Years in a Catfish Relationship - BlackSportsOnline I just want her to be held accountable for her actions and to take responsibility. In episode three of the podcast, hosted by Alexi Mostrous, it's revealed that Kirat has been catfished by her own cousin Simran Bhogal, who allegedly used the identity of a real man named Bobby . Contact us There is a chance, albeit a small one, that the case might be reopened. Catfishing involves luring someone into a relationship by creating a fictional online persona. But saying yes didnt feel right either.. The case of Kirat Assi v Simran Kaur Bhogal - Sweet Bobby The longest case of catfishing in the UK; Is catfishing . On Feb. 20, Assi opened up about the podcast on social media and how the popularity of Sweet Bobby has been overwhelming & exhausting. Thanking those who have taken the time to listen, sent lovely messages and even shared your own experiences, she added that she has also received negative comments and assumptions about her story. Bobby was just a small, albeit crazy, part of it. Dr Charlotte Proudman is a barrister specialising in family law. It's the most extraordinary story of twisted internet deception you'll Ill post any developments on my Twitter page, @aleximostrous. Then Simran gave Kirat fake Bobby's e-mail address so she could express her condolences on the loss of his brother. But just like Bobby, none of these stories, or people were even real. JJ dated Bhogal when she was 16. Per Mail Online, Bhogal still. In 2018, Kirat discovered that she had been the victim of a decade-long 'catfishing' deception that was so shocking she collapsed when she found out the truth.. Where is 'Sweet Bobby's Kirat Assi Now? - Bustle The availability of such details online left Assi with no reason to suspect or doubt Bobby. Because even though Simran confessed to the catfish, Kirat is still fighting for justice today. Police need to be educated, she says. Why didnt you stop? Mostrous also encouraged Simran Bhogal to get in contact to explain her side of the story. How could you be so sick?. This article was originally published on Jan. 4, 2022, Tom Holland's Year Off From Acting Won't Last As Long As You Think, The 'Heartstopper' Cast Revealed Season 2's Release Date With A Behind-The-Scenes Video, Chrishell Stause & G Flip's Relationship Timeline May Include Annual Weddings, 'And Just Like That' S2 Features Subtle Tribute To Willie Garson's Stanford. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Simran Bhogal (@simrannbhogal) Instagram photos and videos This was Assi's and Bobby's first contact with each other. But it did not make Assi any less of a stranger to him, albeit one who knew all the ins and outs of Bobby's life. Why arent you in your room? I didnt understand why I was sitting at home if he wasnt here. An excited Assi even went to the airport in London to pick Bobby up, but to no avail, as Bobby gave the excuse that he was not ready to meet her. Bobby kept up with his barrage of excuses refusing to see Assi, and at the same time, his "family" told Assi to lay off Bobby and to not push him to meet her. Kirat Assi at home in London. Shes even been on a few dates despite everything thats happened to her. How could she have a relationship with someone shed never even met? Catfishing is a term used to describe luring someone into a relationship by creating fake social media profiles. She could make up whatever she wanted as she was obviously stalking [the real Bobby] and his family and his wifes family, says Assi. Its certainly not clear-cut. He is due to appear at Newcastle Crown Court on Jan. 7, 2022. Assi is understandably upset that she is viewed as gullible by some who do not understand the lengths Bhogal went to in order to dupe her. There was also a detailed preview in the Daily Mail last October. All rights reserved. Of course, Assi thought that she was in an intimate relationship with a man called Bobby, not a woman called Bhogal.