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The husband of a missing Manassas Park, Virginia, mother who was last seen more than three weeks ago, has been charged in connection to her disappearance.
Naresh Bhatt, 37, was arrested Thursday morning, hours after being named as a person of interest in the disappearance of his wife, 28-year-old Mamta Kafle Bhatt. He is charged with “Prohibition Against Concealment of Dead Body,” authorities say. The felony charge involves the transport, concealment or alteration of a dead body, according to Virginia law.
News cameras from WTOP’s partners at 7News captured the scene as a Naresh Bhatt was led away in handcuffs around 11 a.m. Thursday. He is being held without bond and will be arraigned Friday morning in Prince William County’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
Kafle Bhatt, an immigrant from Nepal who worked as a nurse, was last seen on July 31.
The couple have a 1-year-old daughter, who has been placed in the care of the Department of Social Services, according to a news release from the Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and the Manassas Park police chief.
Police are still investigating Kafle Bhatt’s disappearance and still hope to locate her. They said there could be additional charges made in the case.
The arrest comes after police obtained a search warrant for the family’s home on Heather Court in the Blooms Crossing neighborhood on Wednesday evening. Authorities have not yet said what evidence they uncovered.
Kafle Bhatt was reported missing on Aug. 5, and the disappearance of the young mother led to an outpouring of community support.
Bandits Sharma-Dahal, an immigration attorney, said she is now working with Kafle Bhatt’s family in Nepal to arrange for her mother to travel from Nepal to care for the couple’s baby.
She said the community has come together to support Kafle Bhatt’s family — in contrast to the isolation faced by the young mother.
“Mamta was alone. She didn’t have a family member over here,” Sharma-Dahal told WTOP’s Nick Iannelli.
Sharma-Dahal said she deals with many immigrants who are victims of abuse and they can often struggle with how to get help.
“They feel alone over here, although there are so many systems over here, it’s really hard … for them to understand,” she said.
Holly Wirth, a former hospital co-worker of Kafle Bhatt, said news of Thursday’s arrest comes as a shock.
“Today, even before the charges came out, was a day of reckoning for me and our supporters to realize that we have to pivot away from necessarily bringing her home safe, to just bringing her home and shifting our efforts to supporting her daughter,” Wirth said. “And I anticipate that’s where the bulk of the work is going to go — fighting for justice for mom too instead of fighting to rescue her.”
Naresh Bhatt’s arrest just several hours after police named him a person of interest in his wife’s disappearance and that he was not cooperating with officials.
“To this point in the investigation, our investigators have executed over 10 search warrants and conducted hundreds of interviews related to this case,” City of Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo told reporters at a news conference Wednesday night. “My staff continues to work tirelessly and follow up every lead, which we have received hundreds of leads on this case.”
WTOP’s Dick Uliano reported from the Manassas Park neighborhood Wednesday evening.
“Those who I have spoken with have expressed frustration that this has been going on for three weeks,” Uliano said. “They also express disappointment. They feel that the case has demanded, and certainly deserved, a higher degree of visibility than what has been provided.”
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the department at 703-361-1136. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to the Manassas City/Manassas Park Crime Solvers by calling 703-330-0330 or at manassascrimesolvers.org.
WTOP’s Nick Iannelli, Luke Lukert and Dick Uliano contributed to this report.