Hossain Ahmad alias Foyez Munna, who hailed from Panchlaish in Chittagong, was a cadre of ruling coalition partner Jamaat-e-Islami's student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, said sources.

With his death, the toll in crossfire rises to 231.

Earlier on Friday morning, a four-member team of Rab-7 with assistance of Rab-2 men arrested Munna at Motijheel Shapla Crossing area of Dhaka, sources said.

He was brought to Rab-7 headquarters at Patenga on Friday evening. He under interrogation said that Gittu Nasir, Sajjad Khan, Gias Hajarika, Taleban Sohel, and other Shibir cadres at different places of Chittagong possess a huge number of firearms. Besides, he confessed to having a few arms hidden at South Mirerkhil in Hathazari.

A Rab team took him to South Mirerkhil at around 4.30am yesterday. But his gang already lying in wait there opened fire on Rab men to snatch him. Rab men returned fire, and at one stage, Munna got shot. He was rushed to the Hathazari Health Complex, where doctors declared him dead.

Rab men recovered a number of firearms from Munna's village hideout. The arms included five guns, 49 rounds of ammunition and eight cartridges.

Sources said Munna was accused in five cases including one for triple murder. He and his men were involved in the double murder of Awami League leader Faruk Mahmud Siddique and businessman Solaiman Chowdhury in 2003.

Munna was reportedly second-in-command of the gang of notorious Gittu Nasir, who had been sentenced to death in the sensational principal Gopal Krishna Muhuri murder case.

He had been absconding since the murder of Shibir cadre Chhota Saiful, his brother and sister last year.