Muhammad Yunus has paid tribute to those killed in Bangladesh's deadly protests that toppled Sheikh Hasina's government, saying their sacrifices had brought the nation a "second independence".
"Today is a glorious day for us," he told reporters at the airport in Dhaka shortly after returning to the country to lead a caretaker government. "Bangladesh has created a new victory day. Bangladesh has got a second independence."
Yunus touched down in Dhaka on a flight from Paris via Dubai shortly after 2:00 pm (0800 GMT) and could be sworn in as the country's new leader as soon as Thursday evening to begin what the army chief has vowed will be a "beautiful democratic process".
In the absence of an interim government, crime rates have considerably increased, the mass circulated The Daily Star reported, with multiple clashes breaking out at various banks across the country, forcing them to limit the daily withdrawals to not more than 100,000 Bangladeshi Taka (approximately $850).
A rising surge in robberies is also being reported, with citizens taking turns to stand vigil through the night in their neighbourhoods. Analysts say a quick formation of an interim government is necessary to restore order.
'Get ready'
The prospect of Yunus, 84, standing alongside military leaders was almost unimaginable a week ago, when security forces fired deadly rounds at protesters who took to the streets demanding that Hasina resign.
But the military turned on Hasina at the weekend and she was forced to flee to neighbouring India — as millions of Bangladeshis celebrated her exit.
The military then agreed to student demands that Yunus — who won the Nobel in 2006 for his pioneering microfinancing work — lead an interim government.
"I'm looking forward to going back home, see what's happening and how we can organise ourselves to get out of the trouble we are in," Yunus told reporters in Paris as he left for Dhaka.
The veteran academic had travelled abroad this year while on bail after being sentenced to six months in jail on a charge condemned as politically motivated, and which a Dhaka court on Wednesday acquitted him of.
Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said he backs Yunus and hoped he will be sworn in to lead the interim government on Thursday evening.
"I am certain that he will be able to take us through a beautiful democratic process," Waker said.
Yunus said he wanted to hold elections "within a few" months.
'Seismic moment'
Few other details about the planned government have been released, including the role of the military.
But Bangladeshis voiced hope as they joined a rally in Dhaka on Wednesday for the former opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP).
"I expect that a national government will be formed with everyone's consent in a beautiful way," Moynul Islam Pintu said.
"I expect that the country is run in a nice way, and the police force is reformed so that they can't harass people."
Hasina, 76, who had been in power since 2009, quit on Monday as hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Dhaka.
Jubilant crowds later stormed and looted her palace.
Monday's events were the culmination of more than a month of unrest, which began as protests against a plan for quotas in government jobs but morphed into an anti-Hasina movement.
Hasina, who was accused of rigging January elections and widespread human rights abuses, deployed security forces to quash the protests.
At least 455 people were killed in the unrest, according to a tally based on numbers provided by police, government officials and hospital doctors.
"The protests are a seismic moment in Bangladesh history," said International Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kean.
"The country really had been at risk of becoming a one party state, and through a peaceful street-based movement led by, Gen Z students in their 20s, they've managed to force her from power."
