In video shown in court Tuesday, Naresh Bhatt, the Manassas Park man on trial in the murder of his wife told police the couple had a fraught relationship — but that they weren’t fighting when she disappeared.
Bhatt is charged with the murder of his wife, Mamta Khafle Bhatt, who vanished in 2024. Her body has never been found. Prosecutors say he dismembered her.
On Tuesday, trial proceedings started with video of Naresh Bhatt in the interrogation room and the testimony of the police captain who conducted that interrogation.
In the video, Naresh tells police that Mamta would often leave the home when the couple was fighting. But, he told police, he and Mamta were not fighting when she disappeared.
“OK. Why do you think she left?” the investigator asks.
Bhatt responded: “I don’t know. That’s the [inaudible]. That’s the problem.”
Later, the investigator asked: “Was she happy in her relationship with you?”
“Yes,” Bhatt said.
Investigator: “She was?”
Bhatt: “Yes.”
“Then why’s she leaving all the time?” the investigator asked.
When pressed on how many times Naresh Bhatt had called Mamta in the wake of her disappearance, he told police: “A few.”
Bhatt has maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty to first-degree murder, defiling a dead body and concealment of a dead body.
Court resumes Wednesday at 9 a.m.
The Case: Where Is Mamta?
Every Friday, Northern Virginia Bureau Chief Drew Wilder and News4 anchor Erika Gonzalez recap the biggest moments in court.
You can find the first two episodes of “The Case: Where Is Mamta?” on NBC Washington’s YouTube channel, or below here:
“The Case: Where Is Mamta?” — episode 1: Oct. 9, 2026
“The Case: Where Is Mamta?” — episode 2: Oct. 16, 2026
