Kirat Assi, a West London woman, has been the victim of one of the most famous catfishing episodes ever uncovered. Over 10 years starting in 2009, Assi was tricked into getting in a relationship with a fictitious man named Bobby Jandu by her cousin, Simran Bhogal.
Her story was first revealed in a series of episodes on the true-crime podcast, Sweet Bobby, hosted by Alexi Mostrous, in 2022. Now, the streaming platform Netflix has come up with a documentary series on the incident.
Who Is Kirat Assi?
Kirat Assi, also known as Harkirat Kaur Assi, is a 43-year-old resident of West London. As per her website, she is a successful marketer and a local radio host. She runs a website with all the details of her case as well as other resources for people who have had similar experiences of being catfished.
What Happened To Her?
Kirat, who told her story on the Sweet Bobby podcast, revealed that she met a man named Bobby Jandu on social media and developed a friendship. After a point, they would speak on the phone daily and their conversation would at times also become sexual. She also described how Bobby, who claimed he lived in Australia, would claim to be in extreme situation, such as being shot and suffering from a brain tumor.
Notably, they never met each other or video called. Then, a point came when Assi said Bobby would become coercive and possessive with her which would cause Assi health issues and severe stress.
Fed up with the situation, she hired a detective to uncover the identity of Bobby Jandu, only to find out that her cousin, Simran Bhogal, to whom she had been conveying the private details of her relationship regularly, was behind the scheme.
According to Assis' website, she filed a civil case against Bhogal which has been settled following a private apology.