In a moving testament to humanity transcending religion and politics, a Muslim woman leader performed the last rites of a 64-year-old man, after his family refused to claim his body following his death from mouth cancer.

T. Narayanan, 64, a native of Chigarupadae in Meenja grama panchayat under the Manjeswaram taluk, died at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, on Thursday (June 25) after battling advanced mouth cancer for nearly a month. Despite being informed by the Manjeswaram police, none of his close relatives came forward to receive the body, saying that they had cut ties with him long ago and could not afford the funeral expenses.

His sister and family members instead submitted a written consent authorising the district panchayat member and development standing committee chairperson Irfana Iqbal to take custody of the body and conduct the funeral. After completing formalities with the Medical College Superintendent, the body was transported by ambulance to Uppala and cremated at the Cherugoli public crematorium.

Ms. Iqbal, who is also the trustee of Sheikh Zayed Old Age Home, lit the funeral pyre and performed the last rites according to Hindu customs.

Narayanan’s final journey contrasted sharply with the circumstances in which he was found barely a month earlier. His plight first came to light when Meenja ward member Shareef Chinala informed Ms. Iqbal about the critically ill man. “When we reached the spot, he had been lying in a semi-conscious condition on the veranda of a shop in his native village for a week without proper food or medical care,” said Ms. Iqbal.

“His illness had progressed to such an extent that he was lying in his own waste, while a strong odour from the untreated cancer discouraged even those around him from approaching him. No one in the area was willing to even give him a helping hand,” she recalled.

K.F. Iqbal, trustee of the old age home, said that Narayanan’s sister, who lived nearby, declined to take responsibility despite repeated requests, and local residents largely remained indifferent to his condition.

“We offered to bear the transportation expenses if financial constraints had prevented the family from conducting the funeral, but the relatives still declined,” he said. They were subsequently advised to submit written statements to the police expressing their unwillingness to claim the body.

Mr. Iqbal said no criminal case had been registered against the family, although the trust believes that the circumstances warranted legal scrutiny, alleging that Narayanan had effectively been abandoned to starve and would likely have died within days had volunteers not intervened.

He also questioned the absence of welfare intervention, pointing out that Narayanan belonged to a Scheduled Caste community. He alleged that neither the Scheduled Caste promoter assigned to the ward nor the local ASHA worker intervened despite their responsibilities and said a complaint had been submitted to the block-level Schedule Caste officer regarding the alleged official inaction.