Manassas Park Police, with assistance from Prince William County Police and their Cadets, have closed Signal Hill Park on Signal View Drive in Manassas Park. The park, located approximately a mile and a half from the home of missing mother Mamta Kafle Bhatt, is closed immediately. Bhatt, a frequent visitor to the park, has been missing, triggering extensive searches.
Authorities have established a command post within the park’s pavilion, which notably hosted a vigil for Kaffle Bhatt last Saturday, drawing 800 attendees.
Officials have not disclosed the duration of the park closure. However, the closure will affect tonight’s and possibly tomorrow’s soccer activities by the Northern Virginia Soccer Club at the park’s fields.
It’s the first search for Kaffle Bhatt conducted by police. Volunteer residents organized previous searches.
We’ll bring you more updates as we have them.
Meanwhile, during a recent hearing in Prince William Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on Thursday, August 29, Judge Katherine C. McCollam dealt directly with Naresh Bhatt, a 37-year-old man accused in his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt’s disappearance, related to the charge of concealing a dead body. Bhatt, who communicated through an interpreter, waived his right to a preliminary hearing, a move that accelerates the case’s progression directly to a grand jury, Insidenova.com reported.
The defense, led by Senior Assistant Public Defender Shalev Ben-Avraham, is pushing for a swift trial, suggesting that the evidence against Bhatt is weak and that a quick trial would prevent the commonwealth from solidifying their case. This sentiment was echoed by Holly Wirth, a former coworker of Mamta Bhatt at Inova Health System, during a news conference, indicating that while the current charge is serious, more severe charges are likely forthcoming.
