Bhagwan Singh Gyanee: The Panama Files

According to S. P. Singh ( the grandson), Bhagwan Singh traveled from San Francisco to Panama to avoid deportation; immediately after arriving from Asia, he left the city because he had originally slipped into San Francisco illegally aboard a cargo ship and now needed to re‑enter the United States through legal channels.

Newly discovered records at the U.S. National Archives in San Francisco provide fresh insight into Bhagwan Singh Gyanee’s conduct during his stay in Panama, where he stayed while attempting to return legally to San Francisco. Fresh evidence from an American Govt. intelligence report states that Bhagwan Singh Gyanee—also known as Pritam—left the Grove (near Panama City) with a woman named Marie Colbert, also known as “Belize,” and lived with her in a room above Al’s Place near Santa Ana Park (a well-known neighborhood in Panama City). Bhagwan Singh reportedly spent significant amounts of money on her, which angered other members of the Ghadar Party. They refused to continue supporting him financially unless he returned the woman to the Grove. Bhagwan Singh declined, forcing him to rely on other sources for his living expenses.

He told Mohamed Bakhsh that he was not depending on the Ghadar Party on the Isthmus of Panama for money or support. Instead, individuals named Kohpoke and Jacobs (possibly German) provided him with funds for his daily needs and to pay attorneys Fabrega and Arias, who represented him in his deportation case (Note: Bhagwan Singh Gyanee was deported back to Panama from Cuba on the way back to US). The woman stated that she knew nothing about Bhagwan Singh’s political activities. She added that he wanted her to accompany him to San Francisco, but she refused because he would not allow her to bring her child.

The report also mentions Paul Fumiaprerna who was employed at the Belbon Brewery, was and still is a pimp for Marie Colbert. He was quite friendly with Bhagwan Singh Gyanee.

Taken together, these findings paint a troubling picture of how Bhagwan Singh Gyanee used the hard‑earned contributions of laborers—men who dreamed of India’s freedom and trusted him to lead them in that struggle. Instead of dedicating himself fully to the cause, he appears to have diverted resources and attention toward personal matters, betraying the faith placed in him by the very workers who supported the Gadar movement.