A 53-year-old businessman was charred to death in his car as passersby kept recording the incident on their mobile phones without bothering to rescue him here on Wednesday morning.

The incident took place around 10 am on the Kota-Udaipur highway near Dhakadkhedi village when Premchand Jain, a resident of Riddhi-Siddhi Enclave in Kunhari area of Kota, was on his way to his factory in Anantpura.

Initial investigation suggested that a short-circuit led to the incident.

Assistant Fire Officer at the Kota Municipal Corporation, Devendra Gautam, said they received information about the incident around 10.25 am after which two fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

The man inside the car had almost reduced to a skeleton by the time the flames were doused, he said, adding that people kept shooting the incident on their mobile phones without bothering to rescue him.

If they had attempted to smash the windowpane of the car before it was engulfed by fire, the man could have survived, he said.

On the basis of the number plate of the car, the identity of the man was established, Borekheda SHO Sanjay Singh said.

According to eyewitnesses, Jain's car had broke down on the Kota-Udaipur highway.

He restarted the car and drove it a few hundred metres away when some passersby noticed smoke inside it, the SHO said.

Jain could not come out of the car as its central locking system had stopped working, he said, adding that fire soon engulfed the man and reduced him to a mere skeleton.

Police have registered a case under Section 174 of the CrPC for further investigation into the matter, he added.

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