The decision to name Prof Yunus as chief adviser of the interim government followed a meeting between President Mohammed Shahabuddin, military leaders and student leaders.

"When the students who sacrificed so much are requesting me to step in at this difficult juncture, how can I refuse?" Prof Yunus had said.

He is returning to Dhaka from Paris where he is undergoing a minor medical procedure, his spokesperson said.

The protests in Bangladesh began in early July with demands from university students to abolish quotas in civil service jobs, but snowballed into a broader anti-government movement.

In all, more than 400 people are reported to have died in clashes between government forces and protesters - mostly civilians shot by police.

On Monday alone, more than 100 people died across the country, making it the single deadliest day in the movement. Hundreds of police stations were also torched.

Hours before protesters stormed and looted the former PM's official residence in the capital Dhaka, Ms Hasina resigned and fled to neighbouring India. That brought a swift and abrupt end to her nearly 15-year rule.

Even as Bangladesh's economy grew in the past decade, the former PM came under increasing criticism for silencing her critics and jailing her political opponents.

Some of them, such as ex-PM Khaleda Zia and activist Ahmad Bin Quasem, were released soon after Ms Hasina's hasty exit.

Ms Zia chairs the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which boycotted elections in 2014 and again in 2024, saying free and fair polls were not possible under Ms Hasina.

The 78-year-old was imprisoned in 2018 for corruption - charges, she said, were politically motivated.

Rights groups say Mr Quasem was detained in 2016, one of hundreds of forced disappearances during Ms Hasina's tenure.