A stranger pummeled a 70-year-old Manhattan straphanger in the face so badly that he had to be hospitalized — all because the elderly man complained about him rolling a cigarette in the station, cops said Friday.

The senior was getting off a southbound C train at the 145th Street station at the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday when he spotted the cigarette-roller in the station and confronted him, police said. 

It’s not clear whether the attacker actually got to smoke his cigarette, which is against transit rules, but the elderly man was apparently making a pre-emptive gripe.

The angry suspect repeatedly punched him in the face for his complaint, cops said. 

The attacker then ran out of the train station toward the street, police said. 

The victim, who suffered a severe cut on his face and lip, was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside, where he was listed in stable condition. 

The NYPD released a surveillance photo of the still-at-large suspect Friday.

Authorities say he is about 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds.

He was last seen wearing a gray Gap hooded sweatshirt and gray sweatpants.