MANASSAS PARK, Va. (DC News Now) — Weeks after a mother and nurse disappeared, police led the woman’s husband out of their home in handcuffs on Thursday.
Naresh Bhatt was booked into The Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center and charged with concealment of a body.
The arrest came after the Manassas Park Police Department (MPPD) executed numerous search warrants at the couple’s house on Heather Court.
MPPD said Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, 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. She last was seen at their home on July 31.
During a news conference on Wednesday night, police confirmed that they had a few people of interest in Mamta’s disappearance, including her husband. They said Bhatt had not been cooperating with the investigation.
One of Mamta’s coworkers, who came out Wednesday evening as police searched the Bhatts’ home, told DC News Now that she had been praying for a positive outcome.
“The case isn’t going to have a positive outcome the way that we’ve been praying for and I think that’s really hard to say out loud, ” said one of Mamta’s coworkers, who was outside of the Bhatts’ home Wednesday. “Justice for Mamta may come in a different form or fashion.”
“It was very shocking. As a matter of fact, I had spoken with him this afternoon,” said Adrian, a community member, after hearing that Bhatt was a person of interest. “I asked ‘How’s the baby? How’s he doing?’ and he says, ‘I’m going through, making it through.'”
Friends and neighbors of Mamta searched for her for weeks. On Aug. 14, around 10 people went to Blooms Park Trail, a place Mamta frequented with her baby, to hang up flyers and search for her. Bhatt did not participate in the search for his wife.
Later that day, he addressed the community and reporters at a news conference outside the Manassas Park Police Department, thanking everyone for their efforts in searching for his wife.
“I need your help in a positive way. Thank you for doing what you are doing, keep doing what you are doing during this difficult time,” he said.