The father of two young boys found dead in the trunk of a car told gardai he was “sorry” after being charged with their murder.

Sanjeev Chada, 43, was charged with the murders of his sons, Eoghan, 10, and Ruairi, five, late last night at a special sitting of Swinford District Court in Co. Mayo.

The court was told that after the charges were put to him, unemployed Chada said:  “I’m so sorry.  I really wish I hadn’t done it.”

The development took place ahead of this afternoon’s (Fri) scheduled funeral Mass of the two young brothers near their family home at St. Lazarian’s Church in Ballinkellen, Co. Carlow, which was due to be followed by their burial in the adjoining cemetery.

Chada had been in garda custody since being discharged from hospital on Wednesday.

Last Monday the bodies of Eoghan and Ruairi were found in the trunk of his car after it crashed near near Westport, Co. Mayo.

The father-of-two was charged at Westport Garda station just before 8pm last night, after which the special sitting of Swinford District Court took place.  He has now reportedly been placed on suicide watch.

Poignantly, the bodies of the two boys were brought to the family home for repose last night, as their father was charged with murder.

The boy’s father Sanjeev Chada, left the family home with the two brothers on Sunday evening to go bowling in Carlow. Their mother Kathleen reported them missing when they failed to return home later that evening.

The bodies of the two boys were discovered in Chada’s Ford Focus car after it crashed on Monday afternoon close to Westport in Co. Mayo. Postmortems showed the boys died of asphyxiation, which is caused by choking or strangulation.

Chada survived Monday’s crash and was taken into police custody on Wednesday after he was released from hospital.

The couple lived in Dublin where Eoghan was born before they moved to Ballinkillen, where they built a large two storey house close to the village.

The Irish Times reports that Chada was was born in Northern Ireland to parents of Indian descent. He worked an IT consultant, from the family home. In his spare time he played he played five-a-side soccer and indoor soccer.

He was said to be “very much loved” by Kathleen’s extended Murphy family and well respected by the rural community of Ballinkillen.

An investigation by police revealed that Chada was experiencing financial difficulties. Police believe he suffered significant losses while dealing in shares online.

Chada is also being investigated by gadai over the disappearance of €50,000 from a local community centre in recent weeks.