Missing Manassas Park mom: Husband charged with concealing dead body

MANASSAS PARK, Va. ( DC News Now ) — A major update in the search for missing mother Mamta Kafle Bhatt was announced by Manassas Park Police and local prosecutors on Thursday afternoon.

Officers in Manassas Park said they arrested her husband, Naresh Bhatt, at his family home. He was charged with Prohibition Against Concealment of Dead Body, a felony.

The Manassas Park Police Department (MPPD) has been searching for 28-year-old Kafle for weeks. She last was seen on July 27.

MPPD said the mother was missing “under involuntary circumstances.” Police said officers followed up on more than 100 leads and conducted hundreds of interviews since Bhatt reported Mamta missing on Aug. 5.

Police searched their family home on Aug. 21, during which “Detectives obtained additional evidence,” according to a press release from MPPD. Prince William County’s Forensic Unit helped in Thursday night’s search.

Their daughter, who turned one earlier this week, was placed in the care of the Department of Social Services.

Officers told community members, in a meeting closed to the press, that additional and elevated charges against Bhatt could be forthcoming.

“Nobody reacted to anything,” Mamta’s friend Sammy Chaudhery said. “Everyone knew that she’s no more. Because [her daughter] Neema’s birthday was a few days ago. She was not there and everyone just lost hope.”

“I don’t even know what day it is anymore. It’s been a full-time job on top of my full-time job, and I’ll keep doing it as long as I can to do this for her. This is not the conclusion that we wanted, but there is a sense of closure and we can shift gears in a different direction to make sure we’re getting as much support as we can to her daughter, because that’s what Mamta would want,” said Mamta’s former co-worker Holly Wirth.

Chaudhery described Mamta as a great friend.

“She would always motivate me,” Chaudhery said. “She’s like, ‘Girl, you should go to nursing class. You should study. You know, there is so many opportunities in America that you can do.’”

Community members are working to get essentials together for Mamta’s daughter and help Mamta’s mother travel from Nepal to the U.S. to help care for the child.

MPPD said they are continuing to search for the missing mom and hope to locate her.

When Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth was asked if Mamta is alive, she replied, “We don’t know. We don’t know. But we are working the investigation. We are working carefully.”

The Fairfax County Police Department told DC News Now that Bhatt had previously been hired as a police recruit but was dismissed from the department after 22 days at the county’s Criminal Justice Academy.

“Bhatt began his employment with the Department on June 22, 2020.  During this period, he was onboarded in anticipation of commencing the academy. On October 26, 2020, Bhatt transitioned to a Police Recruit, but was unsuccessful in fulfilling the requirements of his role and was subsequently dismissed from the Department on November 16, 2020,” FCPD stated to DC News Now.

Bhatt was being held without bond, pending his arraignment on Friday morning in Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.

Online court records show that the hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m.

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