New Delhi, Aug 17 - Three months after the Maharashtra government-appointed probe panel identified police lapses during the 26/11 terror attacks, Chief Minister Ashok Chavan Monday praised the force, saying that 'despite odds' it had done a 'commendable job' in 'bringing the terrorists to book'.

'The state has been on the terror threat. Despite odds, we have been successful in cracking the blast cases. The Maharashtra police have done a commendable job in not only tracing the perpetrators of such heinous offences but also bringing them to book,' Chavan said detailing the security scenario in the state, his first address after last year's terror attacks.

'The Kasab trial is on and we are hopeful to take this case to its logical conclusion,' he said, referring to the lone surviving Mumbai attacker, Ajmal Amir Kasab, who was arrested during the 26/11 carnage.

The attack left 170 people dead and the Mumbai police came under sharp criticism for their handling and response to the terror strike after 10 Pakistani terrorists struck at vital installations in the city.

A two-member committee - comprising retired IAS officer Ram Pradhan and former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official V. Balachandran - was appointed to probe the lapses.

The Pradhan Committee report identified some shortcomings in response by the police and the state government. But the government refused to make the report public because 'it would have demoralised the police'.