NEW DELHI – The son of Bangladesh’s toppled autocratic leader thanked New Delhi on Aug 11 for “saving her life”, accused the caretaker authorities of allowing “mob rule” and warned of chaos ahead without swift elections.

Ms Sheikh Hasina, 76, quit as prime minister on Aug 5 after a student-led uprising and fled by helicopter to longtime ally India.

Her government was accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killing of thousands of her political opponents during her 15-year tenure.

The military announced her resignation and then agreed to student demands that Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 84, lead a caretaker administration, charged with ending disorder and enacting democratic reforms.

However, Ms Hasina’s son, US-based Sajeeb Wazed Joy, 53, criticised the interim government as “completely powerless” and composed of “figureheads”.

“Right now in Bangladesh, you have mob rule,” he told Agence France-Presse in an interview from Washington.

He pointed to the ouster of top officials, including the chief justice, central bank governor and police chief, following protesters’ demands.

“If the mob tomorrow says, ‘No, we want this person in the interim government changed’, they will have to be changed,” he said.

Mr Yunus has said he wants elections “within a few months”, but Mr Wazed warned of risks if they were delayed.

“It...