Virginia police arrest husband after nurse goes missing for three weeks
Mamta Kafle Bhatt was last seen by husband, who reported her missing five days later
Manassas Park in Virginia, United States, is grieving. The disappearance of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a local resident, for over three weeks has plunged the community into sorrow. The Nepalese community held a vigil outside the home of the 28-year-old nurse on Friday (August 23), US media reports said.
Naresh Bhatt, Kafle Bhatt’s husband, has been charged with concealing a body in connection with her disappearance, Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney Amy Ashworth told InsideNoVa, a news outlet in Northern Virginia. The couple’s young daughter is being cared for by a caregiver approved by the Department of Social Services.
According to police, Naresh Bhatt claimed he last saw his wife on July 31 at the dinner table, more than three weeks ago. He had stopped cooperating with investigators, who executed a warrant to search the couple’s home.
Reports indicate that Kafle Bhatt was last seen on July 27 when she reported for work at UVA Health Prince William Medical Centre in Manassas. The following day, she spoke with a friend, CNN reported.
Naresh Bhatt did not report his wife as missing until August 5, after a welfare check was conducted by the police on August 2 at the request of Kafle Bhatt’s work colleagues, CNN affiliate WUSA reported. Three days later, he formally reported her missing, according to authorities in a news release on August 15.
In an interview with WUSA last week, Naresh Bhatt claimed this was not the first time his wife had gone missing. She had disappeared three times previously, but never for this long, he said.
“I’m the one who is suffering,” he told WUSA. “She is my baby’s mom. She is my wife. I’m the one suffering, so I don’t know what I’m supposed to say.”
Naresh Bhatt is scheduled to appear in court later on Friday.