New Delhi, June 4 -- Kenyan detectives on Wednesday were granted 21 days to hold nine students suspected of planning and executing an arson attack at a girl's boarding school in central Kenya that killed 16 children, in a case that has gripped the East African nation.

A court in the town of Naivasha ruled that the girls will be remanded at a children's home to allow investigators to complete their inquiries and determine whether to bring charges.

The fire on May 28 ripped through the Utumishi Girls School dormitory that houses 202 students. Investigators said the school matron failed to open an emergency door, forcing all students to scamper through a single doorway.

The accused girls have been in police custody for six days, during wh...