A station house officer (SHO) was removed on Sunday and directives were issued for the permanent deployment of two police mobiles at street crime "hotspots" on Karachi's main Korangi Causeway.

The development comes after several passengers were robbed during a traffic jam on the route on Saturday night, triggering an outcry on social media.

East Zone DIG Muquddus Haider said that the group of robbers involved in the incident had been "traced". He said that according to the information available, the suspects were arrested in the past but were later released.

He said Korangi SSP Faisal Bashir was working on the case as a citizen had lodged a complaint.

Haider said that the Korangi Industrial Area SHO was removed as directives had been issued for the permanent deployment of police mobiles at the spot where the citizens, mostly motorcyclists, were looted on Saturday night.

"But the [police] mobile was missing," he said. The senior officer stated that two police mobiles would be deployed in the area as there were no street lights on the route, adding that officials had received complaints about citizens being looted in the past.

Police estimated that around 10-12 motorcyclists were robbed on Saturday night. However, reports circulating on social media claimed that 10 armed dacoits robbed 100 passengers on the main road.

Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi, who is also president of the PTI’s Sindh chapter, retweeted a video of a man who supposedly witnessed the robbers looting citizens. In the video, the man claimed that he had called the 15 helpline but police were nowhere to be seen.

"This is the state of lawlessness in the financial capital of Pakistan and the moron who chairs the political party ruling this province for 15 years wants to do a long march to Islamabad," the minister said, taking a jibe at PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Actor Fakhre Alam said that what was happening in Karachi was "very sad, appalling and dangerous".

"It is no longer a political debate. It is a city drowning into the abyss of crime. The police is failing, the citizens are paying the price. Action beyond political posturing is the need of the hour. SAVE KARACHI."

Karachi has seen an increase in incidents of street crime recently with growing complaints from all segments of society, which have also called out the security administration for its failure to curb such incidents.

Last week, the Sindh government had abruptly removed the Karachi police chief, Additional Inspector General Imran Yaqoob Minhas, after only nine months on the post and replaced him with his predecessor, Ghulam Nabi Memon.

A day earlier, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had blamed the “deteriorating economic conditions” in the country for the recent surge in street crime in the city.