Shantini has also done films in Malaysia and worked as a cabin crew in Singapore for a short period of time before settling in India. For the last few years, Shantini had served as a tourism ambassador for Malaysia in India.
But unbeknownst to many, Shantini had been in a live-in relationship with a former Indian minister called Manikandan, who is also a doctor by profession. They first met when Manikandan decided to partner up with Shantini for a business opportunity in Malaysia.
Soon their friendship blossomed into love and Shanthini had apparently been in a relationship with Manikandan for five years. In a recent press meet, the tourism ambassador admitted that she knew about his previous marriage but said that he often complained that he was unhappy in marriage and was forced into marrying his current wife.
"Over a course of five years, he promised to marry me but kept postponing it, saying he's a minister and he can't divorce his wife. After losing his position, Manikandan claimed that he fell into depression and cannot marry me again," Shantini explained to the media.
The former actress further claimed that Manikandan forced her to abort their child to avoid a scandal while he still was a minister and the abortion took place at a clinic owned by his friend Dr. Arun.
"I need justice because he keeps saying that nobody will believe me since he's an ex-minister. He threatened me with a photo and claims to have more inappropriate photos of me, which forced me to lodge this complaint," Shantini added.
According to Shantini, she was ready to break the relationship and move on but when he started blackmailing her using the photos, she had no choice but to fight for justice.
Watch her full statement to the media here:
Source: Sun News
Photo Credit: Sun News & Cinema Pettai