Updated –Members of the community gathered to honor the Manassas Park police department for their diligent efforts in the investigation of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a mother who has not been seen since July 2024. The recognition ceremony highlighted the role of law enforcement in uncovering key evidence in the high-profile case.
During the ceremony, 11 officers from the Manassas Park Police Department were presented with traditional Topi headdresses provided by Kafle Bhatt’s Nepalese family. Sunita Basnet Thapa, a coworker and mentor to Kafle Bhatt during her nursing career, explained the cultural significance of the Topi. “The headdress is traditionally presented to Nepalese men to identify them as honorable and hardworking,” she said.
This ceremony represents how far the police relationship with the community has developed. Early into the disappearance, residents harbored animosity toward what they perceived as police inaction and organized rallies and search parties to put pressure on local officials during the 22 days of her disappearance before police arrested the missing woman’s husband, Naresh Bhatt, on August 22, 2024.
Holly Wirth, another coworker of Kafle Bhatt, emphasized the importance of recognizing police contributions at this stage of the case. “We don’t have closure. We don’t have full justice. The truth is, what we have is only the work you did to bring us to this point. What happens now is really out of the control of the Police Department,” Wirth said.
Mamta Kafle Bhatt was last seen on July 30, 2024. Early in the investigation, police determined she was presumed dead. Her husband faces multiple charges related to her murder. Law enforcement alleges that Mamta was killed in her home, her body dismembered, and the remains disposed of in various trash receptacles across Northern Virginia.
A search of the home found what police describe as large pools of blood in the master bedroom and bathroom that had been cleaned; however, crime scene investigators used technology that allowed them to see where blood had been.
A significant development in the investigation came when the police obtained a warrant for GPS data from the couple’s Tesla. Police allege the data shows Naresh Bhatt’s movements in the days after she was last seen as he disposed of evidence. Forensic analysis matched DNA found on a reciprocating saw in the home to hair from Kafle Bhatt’s hairbrush, further substantiating the charges. Despite the GPS data, no human remains have been found despite dozens of searches.
Naresh Bhatt, a former contractor for the U.S. Secret Service, remains in custody at the Prince William Adult Detention Center without bond. Initially charged with concealing a dead body, the charges were later upgraded to include first-degree murder and defiling a dead body.
CourtTV, a cable TV broadcaster providing legal analysis of live court cases, has petitioned the Circuit Court to televise the trial. As of now, the court has not scheduled a hearing to address this request.
Bhatt’s trial is scheduled to begin September 8, 2025, and is expected to last 16 days.
