HYDERABAD, May 2: The alleged mastermind in the kidnapping- cum-murder case of US journalist Daniel Pearl, Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh, and his three co-accused were shifted to the Hyderabad central jail on Thursday night under heavily-guarded rangers and police escort.

They were brought in two separate prison vans.

The other accused were Salman Saqib, Adil Shaikh and Fahad Naseem.

The Dadu police, led by Kotri ASP Sharjeel Karim Kharal, received the accused on the super highway near Nooriabad and then the convoy of more than one and half a dozen rangers and police vehicles escorted them to the jail at 9.25pm.

The outer area of the central jail was cordoned off by the rangers and the police.

The trial will begin on Friday as per the high court’s directives.