Belgian police chief steps down

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A top criminal investigator has stepped down after criticism of his role in the bungled search for missing children found murdered last year, officials said.

Christian de Vroom, chief of Belgium's Judicial Police, was criticised by a parliamentary inquiry into the disappearance of four young girls whose bodies were discovered buried on property belonging to convicted child rapist Marc Dutroux. De Vroom is the first high-ranking official forced from his job for his role in bungling the investigation. Brussels - AP