Gaya, March 10: Gaya district magistrate Jitendra Srivastava has served a showcause notice on jail superintendent Bishvanath Prasad for his “failure” in preventing former minister Surindra Prasad Yadav from using jail land and staff quarters for personal use.

Yadav is allegedly farming over an acre of land that belongs to central jail authorities. He has “grabbed” the staff quarters, too. A case of criminal trespass has been registered with Rampur police station against Yadav.

Earlier, Gaya Sadar SDO Navneet Ranjan Tiwari had found the superintendent “silent” on the alleged illegal occupancy. Superintendent Bishvanath Prasad said in his defence that Yadav had occupied the land a decade ago while he (Prasad) joined his post two years ago.

The superintendent added that he had informed officials, including Magadh division commissioner and district magistrate, about Yadav’s activities after he joined. Jitendra Srivastava has said that a certificate case would be instituted against the minister.

According to official estimates, Yadav has taken home agricultural produce worth more than Rs 3.5 lakh from the one-acre land.