India, Jan. 9 -- India on Friday urged Bangladesh to "swiftly and firmly" deal with attacks on minorities even as it described Dhaka's attempts to attribute such assaults to extraneous reasons as troubling.

Bangladesh has witnessed several attacks on minority communities, especially Hindus, after the killing of radical student leader Sharif Osman Hadi in December. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) said it has recorded 51 incidents of communal violence in December alone.

"We continue to witness a disturbing pattern of recurring attacks on minorities as well as their homes and businesses by extremists," external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing.

"Such communal inciden...