DOEBELN, August 23: An Indian victim of mob violence in eastern Germany said on Thursday he was too afraid to sleep at home following the attack last weekend and had gone to stay with friends.

Around 50 Germans chased Kulvir Singh and seven other Indians through the town of Muegeln after people insulted and attacked them at a fair. The eight took refuge in a pizzeria until around 70 police cleared the mob and restored order.

Singh, sporting a black eye, told a news conference he had only returned home on Wednesday.

“Last night I slept alone in my flat in Muegeln but I got up three times to check the door was shut,” he said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned the attacks and said they need to be cleared up as quickly as possible. The minister responsible for Germany’s eastern states said support for Nazi ideas there was enough for some people to fear for their lives.

Singh was also critical of the treatment he and the other victims received from police after the attack, saying officers showed little compassion and did not offer them medical aid.

Others criticised police for being slow to regard the violence as a racist crime. Police so far say they have not ruled out anything in their investigation into what sparked the attacks.