A man who allegedly arranged accommodation for the gang hired for the murder attempt on Trinamool Congress councillor Sushanta Ghosh and facilitated payment for the operation has been arrested in Bihar’s Samastipur.

Mohammad Phoolbabu, 45, the accused, is originally from Bihar and lived at Gulshan Colony in Anandapur, in southeast Calcutta.

The police said Phoolbabu had provided logistical support to the team who came to Calcutta to attack the councillor.

With his arrest, the number of accused rounded up for the murder bid has gone up to four.

The other three in custody are Yuvraj Singh, 18, who allegedly tried to fire at Ghosh but failed; a taxi driver named Ahmed Khan; and Gulzar Khan, a resident of Gulshan Colony and the alleged mastermind.

Phoolbabu, the police said, was an acquaintance of Khan and helped him in his earlier plans to kill Ghosh.

“Gulzar Khan had tried to get Ghosh killed twice before. Phoolbabu had helped a team from Bihar carry out a recce in Calcutta. On one occasion, the people who came for the recce developed cold feet when they found that Ghosh was an influential politician. The second time, a team came during Durga Puja and returned after seeing large crowds on the roads,” said an officer involved in the probe.

In both cases, Phoolbabu provided logistics to the people from Bihar.

“In the last attempt, he helped Yuvraj Singh and his associates from Bihar with accommodation,” the officer said.

A team from the anti-rowdy squad of the detective department of Kolkata Police went to Samastipur and arrested Phoolbabu on Friday.