DUSHANBE, February 19, 2015, Asia-Plus – Najmiddin Qayumov, a soldier of one of military units of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) deployed in Dushanbe, who was hospitalized on February 8 with gunshot wounds to his head, has undergone successful surgery, an official source at a MoD told Asia-Plus today.

According to him, the soldier has already been transferred from the resuscitation department to a common ward but doctors do not yet allow questioning him.

We will recall that Najmiddin Qayumov was taken to Qariyai Bolo Medical Center with gunshot wounds on February 8 and he came out of coma on February 13.

The MoD representatives noted that according to the results of the preliminary investigation, it was an attempted suicide.

However, the exact reason will be established after conversation with the soldier, the source said

Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports that fellow soldiers said Najmiddin Qayumov shot himself with an AK-47 assault rifle.

Najmiddin Qayumov was reportedly drafted in the army in autumn 2014.

Media reports said Qayumov may have attempted to commit suicide after being a victim of hazing, a persistent problem within Tajikistan''s military.

In June 2014, a sergeant and a doctor in the Tajik military were sentenced to prison terms for involvement in separate violent hazing incidents.