Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare (Documentary; 2024)
Director: Lyttanya Shannon
This is an unbelievable case of catfishing that went on for ten years. It was initiated by a close relative for no apparent reason. For those out of the loop, catfishing is a new way to deceive the unwary by creating a fake online profile and building a relationship. The profile will use fake pictures, and the final modus operandi is to swindle people of their money. No money was transacted to add more perplexity to the situation narrated in this documentary.
Kirat Assi invested her ten youthful years in a long-distance relationship with a social media character whom she thought was an acquaintance with whom she had one casual face-to-face contact. The guy, Bobby Junda, was the brother of her second cousin's boyfriend.
All the people in the story are from the small Kenyan Indian Punjabi community in the UK. Kiran had a fallout with her childhood boyfriend when she was about 30. She had her life in order, though, working as a DJ on a local radio.
Kirat starts communicating with Bobby online. Over the years, Kiran sees him meeting up with his wife, having a child, and separating from his wife and then suddenly, Kiran is told that Bobby has been shot. Then, again, through communication with other 'common friends', it is said Bobby was in New York under the witness protection programme.
What followed after that were prolonged hospitalisations, multiple surgeries and loss of ability to speak. The question of how a person under the US witness programme could still be with acquaintances was raised but was given a wish-washy explanation. Love soon blossomed, and both confessed their devotion to each other, all online, one in the UK and the other in New York. Soon, Booby's toxic nature manifests, affecting Kirat's mental and physical health. Nevertheless, she lingered on. The pressure to be married was palpable as her biological ticking, so she thought.
Almost a decade into the relationship came the much-dilly-dallied meeting in London. Again, Bobby delayed his meeting even though he was already in London. Kiran engaged a private investigator to track him down. Hold behold. This leads to the home of a particular gentleman named Bobby Junda, whose resemblance to the social media profile is uncanny. He appears to be still married to the same girl he is supposed to have divorced with a child. This is the real Bobby Junda, and Simran, Kirat's cousin, stole his identity.
Then came the police reports and investigation. Kirat's cousin had been using Bobby's profile with a fake account. Not only that, but she also created multiple fake profiles to build a big group to outwit Kirat. When confronted, Simran refused to comment but apologised in private.
For all her shenanigans and the emotional and physical trauma she caused, Simran got away scot-free. Simran herself had to endure embarrassment when her mischief was exposed, not to mention the community's gossip. In those ten years, Simran lived a whole life with a high-paying job, getting married, and having a child. Kirat, now in her mid-40s, feels she has missed the boat of finding a life partner and having kids. These are important to her. She thinks that all the pointless waiting and the building of a hopeless dream happened because of Simran's actions.
Unfortunately, the UK legal system does not have a provision to prosecute someone for catfishing. It is not a criminal offence.
* Catfishing is the fabrication of a false online identity by a cybercriminal for deception, fraud, or exploitation. It is most commonly used for romance scams on dating apps, websites, and social media platforms. The 2010 film Catfishing popularised the term. It is said that catfishes used to be placed in the same tanks while transporting cod. Catfishes are natural enemies of codfish. By keeping them together, the cod will swim around, scared for their lives. Hence, the cod will appear more energetic and fresh.
