A 27-year-old man has been indicted after police say he pushed a 70-year-old subway station agent onto the subway tracks early Christmas Eve morning. 

The incident happened at the Nassau Avenue subway station. The station agent, known as Mr. Kumar, was doing his job during the overnight shift and told a man the subway was closed for cleaning--as it has been for months during the pandemic. 

However, Mr. Kumar says the man didn’t take no for an answer. He says the man pushed past the subway turnstile, attempted to board a subway, and pushed Mr. Kumar in the chest and onto the tracks after being told a second time. 

News 12 is told the fall was intense and could have killed him. Subway platforms have a third rail that could easily electrocute anyone. 

News 12 is told Mr. Kumar fractured his spine and sustained head injuries. News 12 is told he is barely walking and is recovering at home. 

Police originally charged 27-year-old Jhonathan Martinez with second-degree attempted assault, but Martinez is now facing first-degree attempted assault. 

Robert Kelley, vice president of the Transit Workers Union Local 100, says he feels this was an act of attempted murder. 

Kelley tells News 12 his workers believe the answer is more policing.

MTA Spokeswoman Abbey Collins released a statement saying, "We have zero tolerance for these heinous attacks on our heroic workers. We are grateful Mr. Narinder is alive and we wish him a smooth and speedy recovery. Under Interim President Feinberg’s leadership, New York City Transit has been laser-focused on this issue, working closely with prosecutors to hold perpetrators fully accountable, publishing worker assault statistics weekly and calling for an increased police presence throughout our system."