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The husband of a 28-year-old Virginia mother missing for nearly three weeks was handcuffed and taken away by police late Thursday morning just days after pleading for her safe return.
Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a pediatric nurse, was last seen on August 31.
The young mother has not been seen since - missing her daughter's first birthday, and sending shockwaves through the community.
In a televised appeal for her safe return days ago, her husband Naresh Bhatt begged her to come home.
But today, he was walked out of the family's idyllic suburban home in handcuffs in a shocking twist.
Now, DailyMail.com can reveal Bhatt had been appealing to other local mothers on social media.
She complained that he was not helping her care for their daughter.
Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a young mother from Virginia, has been missing for three weeks
Mamta's husband, Naresh Bhatt was named a person of interest in the case, and had not been cooperating with the investigation, police said. Today, he was marched out of their home in handcuffs
After Bhatt's arrest, one of the officers carried the child out of the home.
In February, Mamta posted in the Facebook group 'Separated, Divorced, Single Moms of Virginia, Maryland and DC' that she has a 6-month-old baby and in the process of a separation.
'I work 2 days a week and my husband is not helping to take care of baby. He is saying, that if I leave baby with him he will send child to custody. Is it possible? I need help for child care, she said,
'I need help from social worker and need some advice.'
Robin Kuppusamy, the missing mom's friend, shared in a post on August 12 expressing her concerns for her friend.
'Multiple women and myself have been talking to her on our separation divorce group on Facebook to find her help since she was leaving her spouse until she dropped off the radar,' Kuppusamy wrote.
Bhatt's shock arrest comes days after he made an emotional TV appeal for his wife's safe return
She added, 'she would have never left her daughter behind.'
Mamta also shared that her and her husband were still living together but that she no longer has any money. She wrote, in part, 'I don't have money now too he withdraw all money from joint account'
Mamta, a pediatric nurse did not show up to work on August 2, a co-worker alerted police to conduct a welfare check.
At the time, Bhatt told police his wife was not missing but on August 5 - six days after her disappearance - he filed a missing person's report.
He told police he did not do it sooner as he was following their instructions.
The couple in front of their Virginia home when Mamta was expecting
Officers are seen searching the contents of the home and are in the back of he house
Social media posts reveal Mamta had pleaded for help from other mothers in the area
She asked one of the women in the post that she doesn't have money as he withdrew it all from a joint account
The City of Manassas Park Chief of Police Mario Lugo said at a press conference on Wednesday they have a few people of interest in the case including, Bhatt. He added that he is 'not cooperating with them in their investigation.'
Earlier in the day, a search warrant was executed at the family home. During the presser, Lugo confirmed that Mamta's husband was not cooperating with the investigation,' local Fox5 DC reported.
Matma, who is of Napalese descent, has no family living in the United States, friends said.
Since she went missing, the police chief said he and his team have been actively searching for the young mother, and following up on every lead.
So, far he said there have been more than 100 leads, and they have executed more than 10 search warrants. Forensics is involved as well.
He explained that detectives have also been in touch with the Nepalese community.
On August 14, Bhatt was present during an unplanned press conference with community leaders and concerned neighbors held outside of the police department.
At the time, he expressed gratitude to the community for their help. He said, '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 also told the news outlet that his wife's disappearance has taken a toll on him and his 11-month-old daughter.
'I'm really tired. Tired, exhausted – physically, mentally, economically. I'm suffering,' he told the news outlet. 'I'm suffering a lot.'
That same day, nearly a dozen volunteers searched the Blooms Park Trail, where Matma often went to with her baby daughter.
Her husband was reported to have not have participated.
Sammy Choudhary, a friend and neighbor of the missing woman, who helped organize the search grew emotional while speaking to Fox5 DC.
'If anything happened to her. I want her to get justice. I don’t think anybody should go through this. There is a person missing.'
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