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UPDATE: Mamta Kafle Bhatt's husband arrested for concealing a ...

UPDATE Mamta Kafle Bhatts husband arrested for concealing a
Manassas Park police on Thursday morning arrested the husband of Mamta Kafle Bhatt after a nightlong search of the couple's home in Blooms Crossing.

Police escort the husband of Mamta Kafle Bhatt on Thursday morning, Aug. 22, out of his Manassas Park home. 

Trevor Baratko/InsideNoVa COPYRIGHT INSIDENOVA, 2024

Naresh Bhatt has been charged with concealing a dead body in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney Amy Ashworth said Thursday afternoon.

Weeks after Mamta Kafle Bhatt was last seen, Manassas Park police on Thursday morning arrested her husband and took away the couple's 1-year-old daughter, who had been in his care.

During last night's search, Ashworth said police "obtained additional evidence."

"After consultation with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, detectives arrested Naresh Datt Bhatt in connection with her disappearance," Ashworth said in a release.

Mamta’s daughter was placed in the care of the Department of Social Services.

"The child is safe and being cared for by an appropriate care giver approved by the Department of Social Services and Manassas Park Police Department," the release said.

Ashworth said authorities are pursuing additional leads that "may result in additional charges being brought."

Mamta Kafle Bhatt has not been located, Ashworth said.

Bhatt was held without bond at the jail. He will be arraigned Friday morning in Prince William Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

Just after 2:30 p.m. Thursday, after hauling items out of the Bhatt's home for hours, a forensics van left and an officer began unraveling crime scene tape around the property.

The arrest follows three weeks of searching for the 28-year-old pediatric nurse and first-time mother, who was last seen in late July.

Police were called to the couple's home on Heather Court on Aug. 2 for a welfare check when Mamta Bhatt did not show for her shift at UVA Prince William Medical Center in Manassas. At the time, Naresh Bhatt did not want to report his wife missing, police said.

Bhatt's family and friends last heard from her on July 28.

Friends, family and the Nepalese community rallied in the aftermath of her disappearance, organizing searches, handing out flyers and keeping pressure on police.

Late Thursday afternoon, members of the Manassas Park and Nepalese communities were frustrated after police told them there was not enough room to accommodate them in a “community update” in the case.

Members of the media specifically were barred from the meeting, which was termed an "informational" session.

People from the local Nepalese community gathered at the Manassas Park police station Thursday after the husband of Mamta Kafle Bhatt was arrested. Bhatt, of Manassas Park, has been missing for more than three weeks.

Grace Schumacher | InsideNoVa

Amy Ashworth, commonwealth's attorney for Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park, talks to reporters outside Mamta Bhatt's Manassas Park home after the arrest of Bhatt's husband on Thursday, Aug. 22. She is accompanied by Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo. 

Trevor Baratko/InsideNoVa COPYRIGHT 2024, INSIDENOVA

Bhatt's daughter, who turned 1 on Tuesday, was carried out of the house by someone who appeared to be a police detective late Thursday morning.

Nadia Navarro, a close friend and former roommate of Bhatt's who spearheaded community efforts to find her, said Thursday morning on Facebook she would do everything she can to keep the baby out of foster care.

Outside the Bhatt's single-family brick home after noon, police continued hauling out evidence, including large sections of rolled-up carpet.

Nadia Navarro, a close friend and former roommate of Mamta Kafle Bhatt's who spearheaded community efforts to find her, sits outside the Manassas Park police station Thursday afternoon. She was brainstorming a list of baby items to purchase should she be given custody of Bhatt's 1-year-old daughter.

Grace Schumacher | InsideNoVa

Ivy Freeman, a neighbor of the Bhatts, told reporters outside her home she’s glad the Bhatt’s child has been taken away from the father.

“A mother wouldn’t leave her baby, definitely when her baby’s first …,” a choked-up Freeman said.

Freeman has lived in the Blooms Crossing neighborhood for about 20 years.

“Very tragic, very sad story,” she said. “I really hope that they find her … for her family. They need her to have closure.”

This is a developing news story. Check back for updates.

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Ivy Freeman, Mamta Bhatt's neighbor in Manassas Park's Blooms Crossing neighborhood, talks to reporters after the arrest of Bhatt's husband on Thursday, Aug. 22. Sébastien Kraft / InsideNoVa COPYRIGHT 2024, InsideNoVa
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