MUMBAI: Three months after probe into the Rs 6,500-crore Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank loan fraud case began, TOI has learnt that the whistleblower was an “insider”. Mumbai police have used the term “whistleblower” for the first time in their chargesheet. Mumbai police’s economic offences wing filed the 32,000-page chargesheet on Friday.Those to be charged include HDIL directors Rakesh Wadhawan and his son Sarang, former PMC Bank managing director Joy Thomas, former bank chairman Waryam Singh and former bank director Surjit Singh Arora. The whistleblower, a senior PMC Bank official, had reportedly threatened to commit suicide because the RBI had not been informed about HDIL’s “hidden accounts” in the bank.The whistleblower had an argument with some other bank officials over the issue. This triggered a series of events beginning with Thomas and a few other bank officials visiting his home to meet him after he did not answer his phone.Later, they approached RBI and the loan fraud case details were made public. Police sources said since 2017, several PMC Bank officials had been aware about HDIL’s accounts with the bank. They said the accused hatched a conspiracy to conceal the material position of long-pending dues of loan facilities to HDIL and to create a favourable environment within the bank for its group companies.The accused misappropriated bank funds for their personal gain (acquisition of properties within the country and abroad) and thereby caused wrongful losses to the bank, the sources added. Sources said the whistleblower, a witness in the case, visited the income tax office in mid-September to submit details it has sought on HDIL’s accounts with the bank.On returning to the bank’s central office, he had an argument with a joint general manager on why HDIL accounts had been kept hidden from RBI. He had then left the office saying he would commit suicide. Next day, Thomas and two other bank officials arrived at his home to console him.The whistleblower told them he had shared HDIL’s account information with RBI. On September 18, a group of senior bank officials decided to approach RBI. Meanwhile, Thomas went to meet Singh and apprised him of the situation. Thomas and five other officials met RBI’s executive director and informed him about the bank’s financial status.RBI then sent its officers to PMC Bank for inspection and got information from the whistleblower and the bank’s inspection report. City police chief Sanjay Barve and EOW head Rajvardhan Sinha met depositors twice, heard their problems and promised a speedy probe.A special investigation team have worked for three months and arrested 12 accused so far in the case. RBI had placed lending restrictions on the cooperative bank on September 23, restricting withdrawal limit for account holders to Rs 1,000.This limit was gradually increased to Rs 50,000 to give relief to thousands of its account holders.