New Delhi (PTI): The Government has directed two GSM operators, Aircel and Bharti Hexacom, to terminate the agreement with franchisees whose actions were found detrimental to national security in sensitive circles like the North-East and J&K.

In letters to these operators, the department of telecom said, "It has been brought to the notice of the licensor by the Law Enforcement Agency that the conduct or antecedents of the franchisee/agency/distributors are detrimental to the security of the nation."

The licensor has directed the companies to terminate the agreement in the interests of the nation.

In the case of Aircel, the DoT has sought the termination of agreements with 11 franchisees in J&K, four in Assam and one in Dimapur (Nagaland).

For Bharti Hexacom, a Bharti group company functioning under the brand name Airtel operates in Rajasthan, the DoT has sought termination of agreement with seven agencies in Tripura, one in Meghalaya and six in Manipur.

Aircel, 74 per cent owned by Malaysia's Maxis Communications, is a pan-Indian player. With over 10 million customers in the country, Aircel has revved up plans to become a full-fledged national operator by 2009.

The Government in the licence conditions has made it clear that the telcos will be responsible for the actions of their franchisees and distributing agencies and in that capacity has directed these telcos to terminate dealings with such doubtful firms.

A DoT official said there can't be any lapse in areas like J&K and the North East, where terrorist outfits carry out strikes by exchanging information on mobile phones and therefore the users and sellers' identity is highly essential there.