A Virginia husband who told reporters he was “suffering” over his wife’s disappearance is accused of dragging the body out of their home and hiding it.

Naresh Bhatt, 37, last saw his wife Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, on July 31, but only reported her missing after police began investigating her disappearance on August 5.

He was arrested Thursday after a nearly month-long investigation that included charging him with failure to conceal a corpse, a felony in Virginia.

“On or about July 30, 2024, the defendant Naresh Bhatt murdered his wife Mamta Bhatt. The incident occurred at their residence in the city of Manassas Park,” a police report obtained by WJLA states.

“During the course of this investigation, numerous digital and forensic pieces of evidence were recovered that are related to her death.”

The police report also contained evidence that Mamta’s body was inside the house before she was “dragged” out of the house.

The couple had been together for over three years and had a one-year-old daughter.

On August 2, Manassas Park police conducted a welfare check at the couple’s home in Heather Court, about 32 miles southwest of Washington DC.

During the welfare check, Naresh “provided additional information” but did not want to report his wife as missing, police said.

He is said to have told police that his wife had been visiting relatives in New York or Texas and had destroyed her phone before leaving.

As WJLA reported, authorities determined that Mamta had no relatives in either state and that her phone was still receiving data between July 29 and August 1, when it died, prosecutors claimed in court Friday.

On August 5, he finally reported Mamta missing.

Authorities say Naresh did not cooperate with authorities during the investigation while he waited to officially file a missing person report, the outlet reported.

Investigators found that between August 5 and 8, Mamta Bhatt had significant lack of contact with her husband, friends and family, work, and social media posts.

Naresh emotionally reflected on the “horrific” experience of his wife’s disappearance while speaking to several news agencies between the time he reported Mamta missing and his arrest.

“It’s been a horrible time. My baby and I are just waiting, just waiting, minute and second. I don’t know how to explain it,” Bhatt told WUSA9.

Naresh claimed that his wife had disappeared three times, but he had never called the police.

He said his wife’s disappearance affected him the most before he begged her to come home.

“I’m the one who suffers, I’m the one who suffers – my baby and then myself, you know, we suffer the most,” he said.

“If she’s watching, come back. Whatever the problem is, you know we can fix it,” Bhatt told the outlet.

Detectives executed a search warrant for his home and reportedly found blood spatter in the master bedroom, which leads to the bathroom’s bathtub, but they have not yet tested the blood’s DNA, according to WJLA.

Investigators also found that Naresh purchased knives at Walmart in Chantilly on July 30, the day he allegedly murdered his wife.

He was also seen at a Walmart in Loudoun County on July 31, where he purchased Lysol and Febreze. Authorities suspect the products may have been used to clean up a crime scene, Prince William County Prosecutor Sarah Sami said in court Friday, according to the outlet.

Investigators believe Naresh was preparing to flee Virginia because they discovered a packed suitcase and clothes missing from hangers, while his “passport was available upon entry.”

Two witnesses told police that he had also recently sold his Tesla and was trying to sell his house.

Naresh is being held without bail and a bail hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Mamta’s parents, who live in Nepal, were granted an emergency visa to the United States to pick up their granddaughter, who has been in the care of social services since her father’s arrest.