Bengaluru, Dec 1: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said the Congress would hold a convention on December 5 at Hassan to protect the Constitution.

Speaking to reporters after a preparatory meeting at the KPCC office, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, said many leaders of the party have expressed their intention to hold the party convention in Hassan.

All the ministers and district in-charges are making necessary preparations. Many organisations and communities have supported this event, he said.

"AICC leaders have directed us to organise a programme on protection of the Constitution and developments in the country. We held a preparatory meeting at KPCC office with the leaders and office bearers of four districts. All leaders of the party will be invited to the convention,” he added.

Shivakumar said the party will invite all those who are championing the cause of the Constitution. The objective of the convention will also be to create awareness against those spreading propaganda against the state government, he said.

He said the Congress will also hold events at Sandur and Shiggavi to express gratitude to the people who blessed the party candidates to win in the recent assembly bypolls.

A similar event will also be held in Channapatna where Congress candidate C P Yogeeshwara won the assembly bye-election, the deputy CM said.

To a question on Zilla Panchayat and Taluk Panchayat elections, he said, “The elections will be held soon. We have discussed this in the Cabinet meeting. We are preparing for elections in February next year.”

When asked whether such a convention would be conducted across the state, he said, “We have to do it across the state. After the Hassan convention, we have a big programme in Belagavi. We will share more information on the programme after a meeting tomorrow.”

On Cabinet expansion, he said, “I am only the KPCC president and Deputy CM, and not a CM. There is no discussion on that right now and there is no need as well. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has already replied to this question.”

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Hyderabad (PTI): The DGGI, Hyderabad zonal unit, on Thursday said it has identified an alleged organised syndicate worth Rs 13,000 crore involved in operating "illegal" online gaming websites in the country with the assistance of associated fintech companies and arrested one of the masterminds.

It further said it has launched a massive crackdown on online gaming syndicates, including action against associated fintech companies, freezing bank accounts to the tune of Rs 100 crore and has begun arresting the masterminds.

As part of the online gaming investigation, GST Intelligence, Hyderabad arrested Pankaj Kumar, founder and director of Adsum Advisory Service Pvt Ltd, the city-based firm, which provides services for fraud detection and customer verification/digital KYC verification, a release from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Hyderabad zonal unit said.

"Evidence gathered during the investigation pointed to the identification of an organised syndicate worth Rs 13,000 crore involved in operating illegal online gaming websites with assistance of associated fintech companies, including payment aggregator, payment gateway and third-party technology service providers, wherein Pankaj Kumar is one of the masterminds responsible for fraudulent KYC verification of merchants and shell entities on behalf of RBI regulated entities like Payment Gateways and Banking as Payment Aggregator (BAPA)," it said.

Being director of a company responsible for KYC verification process, Kumar "failed" to develop risk profiling of customers based on ownership and control structure and helped in onboarding of shell entities for UPI integration required for flow of money from online gaming, it alleged.

The DGGI, Hyderabad unit, further alleged Kumar, is one of the beneficiaries who received "illegitimate" proceeds of crime generated by the online gaming syndicate.

Further investigation is under progress, the release added.